Gotham Knights: Birth of a Princess
by kitsy-chan
First published
Batman, Zatanna, and others must decide how to proceed when a young girl gains the power of the sun.
In a world of super tech, magic, gods and mortals. In a time when superheros battle aliens, monsters, demons, and villains. A young girl strives to find her footing, find her place, to make friends and survive. She holds the power of the sun inside of her, but will it be too much for her.
Gotham Knights follows the journey of a young Gothamite, as she grows into something much more. Hunted by dark forces and chaos, her only chance is the friends she makes along the way.
Special thanks to Alkarasu for the Art work and Brightlight24 originally and now rich-online for editing.
starting chapter 7 editing by rich-online for wash and to kalash93 for rinse
1: Knight and Day
Lightning arced across the sky in long sheets as it illuminated the dark clouds that blanketed the atmosphere in their deep, sullen gray. The low roll of thunder echoed and reverberated through the Gotham streets, seemingly amplified as it passed through the many narrow alleyways of the city, but just as swiftly silenced by the passing of time. Rain fell,creating vast streams in the gutters of the several buildings of the township, be they worn apartments or businesses, and made large ever flowing puddles to contrast against whatever portion of pavement floor it was ultimately allowed to rest upon. Yet, even the rain couldn’t drown out the smells of gas and refuse that spread throughout the city, almost naturally so. This, especially, could be said of the scent of the west side docks, which somehow held its own individuality among this scent. A greater intensity, or perhaps a higher tension behind.
The dark grey sedan's headlights were shut off, almost instinctively, as it rounded the corner of the warehouse. As the car rolled to a stop, the one at the wheel of the vehicle, Faust, turned off the engine, removing what little noise the radio and engine had provided him in an attempt to tune out the constant rain and thunder that roared around him. With a breath, he grabbed the handle of the door before pushing it open. The sound of the rain hitting the ground filled the inside of the car, just as well as it had the outside, and drowned out the dark words he spoke. His intent and the effects, however, were unmistakable.
The bubble formed as Faust stepped out of the car, blocking the rain, seeming as it had simply been moving it aside from the point of view of any other. For what a normal person would use an umbrella for, Faust simply uttered a phrase. A simplistic phrase, at that. Besides, an umbrella would have been impossible to hold, considering his current situation. Making his way around to the back of the car, not even bothering to close the door of the car as he did so, Faust moved about the keys he held for the vehicle, looking at the locked trunk that, truthfully, he had been staring back at through his rear view mirror since this all begun. Using the keys, he inserted them into the lock on the trunk, giving it one swift twist before, with a satisfying click — though it was heavily muffled by the sound of the elements around him — he unlocked it. As he then proceeded to open the trunk of the car, now exposing it to the elements, he looked down at his prize. The little girl that laid there, unmoving as a result of her binds, and now currently being soaked to the bone by the rain, was perfect. The age was correct for the spell; she was young enough to be pure, but old enough to have energy about her.
Reaching down with both of his hands he scooped up the little eight year-old, allowing her to escape the rain as she was slowly enveloped by the bubble that surrounded him. Of course, this proved to be very little solace for her sake. Her hands and feet were, of course, tightly bound, so walking was very much impossible; her mouth was covered with a piece of thick tape to prevent her from screaming, though she certainly did try to. Nonetheless, this was Gotham, so tape or otherwise, screams would often go unnoticed, unanswered. His prize in his grip, he turned, walking into the nearby warehouse. It seemed like a stereotypical place to meet, dark, brooding, remote, but those words could also be used to describe most of Gotham. Really though, there was nothing about this meeting that would be typical.
The warehouse was chosen because of its location. Not necessarily its location in the city, for there were better locations, more secluded or better places to escape from if needed. Not because of its size; it was average for the docks, and rather mundane. It, however, had something no other building had in the area. Under the building was a convergence of ley lines forming a node, or to put it simply, a weak spot in the fabric of reality. It was this that the building was chosen for. It was for that reason that Faust was there.
Walking inside, the building had already been prepared. A stone altar sat slightly off the center of the central storage area. Constructed from granite and carved in ancient times, the altar had been brought here from Greece. Faust could only vaguely recall the trouble it was to bring it here in the first place, but such memories were not truly of importance. The stone sat in the middle of several circles on the floor, each drawn and enchanted with care, mystic runes tracing the lines to form a massive circle of power. It had to be massive for the amount of power that would be used.
Around the circle candles made from a rather special wax marked the focal points of the coming spell. It had taken months to acquire the materials for them. The reagents came from around the world with many of their names not heard since dark times — only people like Faust old enough to remember — old enough to know the power they held.
This however was not Faust’s spell. He had no intention of staying through its completion, its outcome mattered not to him. He was merely the middle man here. He had a chance to trade for what he wanted and he took it. What he sought wasn’t attainable by some simple spell. That is, if anything Morgaine la Fey did was ever to be considered simple.
“She will do just fine,” Morgaine said as she stepped out of the shadows, himself barely having walked a few feet inside of the building when her voice rang through. The sound of raspy breathing filled the air from behind her. It emanated from the decrepit form of an ancient body sitting in a wheelchair, one who had seen centuries pass by. She looked to him, a smile on her face, before speaking once more. “It will soon be over my son. You shall have your youth back.”
“And you have the stone?” Faust spoke with calm determination interrupting whatever moment Morgaine may or may not have been having with her son. Before him laid the girl on the ancient altar; he was growing rather irritated from having to carry her, after all. Her body squirmed a bit against the bonds but there was no escape for her. A flash of lightning shone through the dusty and murky windows of the warehouse, illuminating her tear streaked face.
Morgaine, now looking back to Faust, simply held out her hand, an ancient stone appearing floating slightly above it. Encased in a magical aura it slowly rotated, allowing Faust a clear view of his prize. “A fragment of the Key of Hades. In trade for the girl… and the gem, of course.”
Faust smiled and pulled out the amulet he held with him. It was old magic. Older than him — older than even Morgaine even — and a remnant from the time gods walked amongst men. It had been set inside a gold amulet, nothing but what was comparatively cheap metal encasing something far more valuable. It had taken him a while to find the Eye of Ra. For the key to the underworld however, it was a fair trade.
Turning, Faust smiled at the tied up girl. He hadn’t even bothered to learn her name when he took her. What was the point, she was nothing but a sacrifice. Her death would serve Morgaine’s needs, just like her kidnapping served his. Laying the Eye on the altar, he smiled and carefully took the keystone out of the air.
“Well bargained and done.” He then spoke simply, nodding his head slightly as he stared fixedly at his new prize.
“Just a little more time Mordred," Morgaine then uttered, returning her gaze to the decrepit one behind her, "there is only one way to restore your youth, after all. It will take the life force of a unicorn.” Bending herself slightly, Morgaine wiped the drool from the ancient man’s face, not so much as flinching in the process. She had cared for him for much too long to be bothered by this such a thing at this point, after all.
It was then that Faust gave out a chuckle.
“Yes, good luck with that. There are none left in this dimension. That however is your problem now,” Faust spoke with a smirk before, satisfied, he began to walk to his car once more. He hardly paid attention to the dark shadow that crossed above him. He knew it was there but it mattered not. Such things were beneath him. It would be Morgaine’s problem, not his.
Looking down at the girl, Morgaine drew an engraved kris style dagger from its sheath which had been laid carefully against the side of the stone the girl was laid upon.
“There may not be any unicorns in this dimension now," she noted as she looked over the sharpened tool in her hand, "but in truth all I need is the essence of one.” Tracing the tip of the kris along the girl’s cheek she looked down. “You shall be the conduit for its essence, and once sacrificed, my son shall be restored.”
The girl closed her eyes tight in fear, her heart racing, but her breathing restricted by the tape. She wanted to scream, to cry out for help, but no one knew where she was. She had been taken from her bedroom by Faust so her parents wouldn’t even realize she was gone till morning. All she had was her Celestia ‘Pretty Pretty Pegasus’ figurine that she was still clutching in her hands. She wasn't sure why she had grabbed it. The mentality of a child, perhaps?
Was it natural then? To grab hold of and take with you whatever you found most comforting in a dire situation, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant? It mattered not, truly.
‘Celestia, please save me, protect me. I don’t wanna die,' she said to herself through her own mind, once more attempting to take solace in this small toy figurine she held, as any child would in such a time. As she did this, the sorceress began her spell. The girl could hear the words but to her they made no sense. They were in some strange language long since changed or forgotten by mere mortals.
Holding the Eye of Ra high above the girl's head, Morgaine la Fey called on the ancient energies. The circle of power at her feet glowed bright green as golden light shone from the gem. As she chanted, the energies flowed inwards towards the girl, wrapping around her in an ethereal dance, as though they were living tendrils encircling their prey. The time was at hand for the sacrifice and Morgaine knew this, raising the kris high above her head as she yelled, “By the ancient ways return the youth that Morgaine has lost!”
With finality to her spell, she drove the kris down, though without giving any sort of notice to the shadowed figure that stood behind her.
Holding his hands wide, the Demon Etrigan unleashed balefire into the sorceress’ side. Caught off guard, the blast then sent Morgaine skidding
across the room, her dagger falling and embedding itself, as if deemed by fate itself, into the Eye of Ra.
Angered by the demon's presence, and what had transpired, Morgaine rose to her feet, holding a hand up as she created a shield in front of her, just as another torrent of flames threatened to capture her within their harsh embrace.
“You have no place here Etrigan. This does not concern you.” Slowly walking forward, the sorceress drove the flames back with what seemed like relative ease. “This is about restoring my son.”
The demon before her gave out a laugh, no so much as giving out a moment of time for the sorceress to react as he continued to send his flames upon her.
“But at the cost of another’s life?” Etrigan chortled, “Only you would see that as a fair trade.”
Pressing forward, he intensified the balefire against her shield, enveloping the flames completely around the sorceress as he then gave out a loud snarl.
Throughout this, the energy from the Eye of Ra, contained in the circle of power, continued to be guided, though with less focused strength behind it. It followed the path of the unicorn essence flowing into the girl, shortly after seamlessly joining with it. The energies wrapped around the child and filled her being. Trembling, the child clutched the Celestia doll for all it was worth, it being all she had now, all she could focus on.
Not to be bested, Morgaine’s shield exploded outwards, the force of this such action sending Etrigan sliding backwards. Reaching out with her magic she then grabbed the demon and threw him backwards into the wall opposite of her with a loud slam.
“You shall not interfere in this matter, demon,” she claimed as she began to walk towards the trapped being, holding him tightly in her magical grasp. “You were foolish to challenge me here.”
Despite his state, however, Etrigan smiled at the sorceress, before beginning to laugh yet again; a deep demonic laugh, filling the warehouse in its entirety, its darkness spreading as the sorceress could not understand the source of the demons mirth.
Looking square at Morgaine, Etrigan shook his head.
"You thought I would challenge you alone?” Before the sorceress could so much as raise a brow at this, however, a pair of bat shaped boomerangs imbedded themselves into the ground on either side of Morgaine with a notable cling. A single red light flashed from both of them and blinked repeatedly in the dim light of the warehouse. Looking down Morgaine realized her mistake, having been focused too much on Etrigan and not checking for others.
The child, in the meanwhile, had begun to shift in her form upon the altar, the power flowing into her was far more than any human should be able to handle. Her hands and feet slowly became hooves. Her mouth and nose lengthened into a muzzle as the power coursed through the little girl’s body. All over her, the energy responded by growing into white hair, giving her a snowy appearance. The restraints around her were enchanted in preparation for this, though, keeping her limbs together as they changed and reformed into that of an equine's.
The ultrasonic pulse that came from the projectiles that had landed near Morgaine was deafening, radiating and reverberating between the pair of emitters on either side of the sorceress. Clasping her hands over her ears, she shrieked, causing a lapse in her concentration that allowed the Demon Etrigan freedom once more.
Lashing out again with balefire, he drove the sorceress to her knees, pushing out an even more intense cry of agony from her, as she was made to experience an onslaught of two different fronts. Not one to be beaten so easily, however, the sorceress gave out one short phrase before she suddenly disappeared from the direction of the attacks, reappearing beside the child once more.
Spreading her arms wide, she let out a pulse of pure white light that filled every part of the room. There were no shadows to hide in. No place was safe from this blast of light.
Closing their eyes, the Dark Knight, who had been hidden in said darkness, and Etrigan were forced to look away from the sorceress. Etrigan then proceeded to brace himself for whatever oncoming attack may be pointed his way. Even without seeing it, he knew Morgaine’s style far too well, so when the force wave actually did make contact with him, driving him back into the wall again, he was not taken by surprise or caught off guard.
The girl, by now, had formed a mane and tail which were charged with pure magic, a veritable rainbow of colors cascading around her. As the Eye of Ra pulsed, she could feel her hips burn. It wasn’t just her hips though. No, she realized soon after that her mind burned as well. She could feel the sun even though it was night out, the raw power of it, the energy from it. She could feel the connection that the Eye of Ra had made with it. To make this connection all the more apparent, the image of the sun appeared on newly formed flanks as well.
The Dark Knight fell backwards off the crossbeam in the roof, shaking his head as he recovered from his dazed state before throwing several gas canisters towards Morgaine. With a rather simple maneuver, at least to him, he shifted his weight so as to right himself as he fell, landing in a crouched position on the ground, only to be driven back against the wall by Morgaine’s magic. However, the canisters that he had thrown exploded, filling the air with small puffs of light. This caused the sorceress to look away again, if only for a moment.
Looking back, she found herself gazing at the altar, and more specifically, the unicorn lying upon. The spell had gone further than expected, but it was still no loss. A smile slowly grew upon her face as she realized that all she had to do was kill the unicorn and she would return the youth to her son. The child’s form did not matter now. Reaching out her hand, the kris, which she had previously dropped as a result of Etrigan's attack, flew to her grasp as she made her way swiftly to the former child. Barely even an inch away from using the kris to finish what she had begun, Morgaine suddenly was given a swift realization of precisely why Unicorn blood was considered such a powerful ingredient in terms of magic.
The child, having had the tape from before fall off with the shifting of her facial features, seemed to suddenly gain her voice, and much more loudly than any had expected.
“Enough!” She cried out, suddenly seeming to sprout wings through the magic that still enveloped her and, with what seemed like the slightest of effort, she spread them outwards. Her voice held the volume and force of a jet engine, powerful and abrupt enough to drive Morgaine back yet again. The horn upon the child's head glowed with the power of the Earth’s star itself as she then looked at the sorceress, tears still matting her face, though clearly much more difficult to see as a result of the fur coat over her form.
Morgaine la Fey simply looked between Etrigan, the child — whom had suddenly begun to somehow use the magic of the Eye of Ra against her, in her unstable state — and the Dark Knight. Her odds of success were greatly diminished at this time, yet she still knew, she could complete her goal at any time. There was now a unicorn on Earth. No. Actually, an alicorn. A being much more powerful. Much more rare. Much more perfect. One she could sacrifice for her son.
“Fine," she said simply, with a slight chuckle accompanying her words, "I shall give you a stay at this time. This, however is not over.”
Stepping back to her son, Morgaine simply vanished in a magical haze. Her son, as well as his chair vanished at the same time, leaving the room throbbing with energy. The light from the former child's horn was painfully bright, however, and the amount of energy the girl drew created a static that every mage and magical sensitive creature for miles could sense.
Shielding his eyes with a hand, as he was at last released from the magical energy that held him, what with the sorceress disappearing, Etrigan looked to the Dark Knight.
“Well, this is different. So, what’s the plan? Drop the brat back off with her parents?”
“Dim the lights,” Batman growled holding his cloak to shield his face from the light. Etrigan barely withheld a roll of his eyes at this simple yet gruff response, before looking towards the being upon the altar.
“Oh yes, if you would be so kind, SHUT that light off!” Etrigan snarled at the mare.
Speaking again with all the subtlety of an airliner’s turbofan engine, the girl said. “I don’t know how!”
The girl’s voice was deafening and the force it brought up once more was nearly enough to lift Etrigan off the ground. A prospect which he found to be truly irritating, what with the amount of times the sorceress had done so to him not moments ago. Yet even with the volume, Batman could hear the fear in her voice. Her eyes were wide and darting around the room trying to make sense of what was happening.
“Etrigan, it’s still a child,” Batman sad as he knelt down, taking cover behind his cloak. He had no way of knowing for sure, but he imagined that the solar radiation she was putting out was actually nearing deadly levels to those without protection. This could be seen clearly by the fact that the floor seemed to quickly grow in temperature, the paint in the walls swiftly began to peel, and whatever remnants of wax from the candles, placed around the altar, melted shortly before beginning to boil.
“Oh I’m so sorry. Should I ask if she needs her diaper changed? She has magical powers, she needs to control it herself!” looking back at the mare he huffed, “Concentrate on your magic, your power, don’t let it control you. Force it down.”
Closing her eyes, the girl concentrated as much as she could. Within a few moments, she had lowered the brightness down to a dim glow, though even then it was a struggle to keep that way.
Panting a bit, she then proceeded to look back at the two before speaking once again.
“Is that better?” while the radiation levels did, in fact, drop, her voice volume was still a problem. She was obviously in terror as she looked from side to side trying to comprehend what her eyes were telling her. Her brain, though, did not want to accept, nor adapt, to the wider field of vision she suddenly held, let alone the magic at her control.
“What’s going on? What’s happening? Why is this…” the child turned mare was starting to panic as the fear rose in her again. She spoke, looking around scared and unsure why she was even here. Her voice shattered the glass causing fragments to rain down. As she got more and more scared, the glow on her horn built up again.
Batman stood up and quickly drew an injector from his belt. In what seemed like seconds, he hastily made his way to the side of the mare, placing the tool against her neck before injecting her with a large dose of tranquilizers in one swift movement. The mare's glow grew, only momentarily, in response to this sudden action, causing the Dark Knight once again to withdraw behind his cloak, but within moments died down as the mare then went quiet, laying down asleep.
“Well why didn’t you do that to begin with?” Etrigan interjected as he made his way to Batman's side, brushing off whatever dust may have made its way onto his arms and shoulders during the conflict as he did so.
“I needed her calm enough that I could get close to her,” the Dark Knight said simply, shifting into detective mode as he caught a glint of metal nearby the altar. Bending over and quickly recognizing the object, and the other object that rested closely nearby it, he grabbed the dagger and the gem and looked them over. He recognized the style on both but knew research would be needed before he could reach any valid conclusions. Slipping them under his cape, he placed them in empty slots on his belt.
It was then that the demon, looking down at the being on the altar, gave out a comment.
“So, does that Batmobile of yours have a trailer hitch? Will you be pulling a bat-horse-trailer out of your belt?” Etrigan remarked as he poked at the mare’s hind leg a few times.
Putting a hand to his ear piece Batman spoke clearly and calmly, “Zatanna, I need your expertise, meet me at Jason Blood’s house.”
“My place? Why my place?” Etrigan said grumping, “I kind of like having my windows intact.”
“Because your place has the largest occult library in the city,” Batman said with a finality about it.
Etrigan looked down at the sleeping mare, “And just HOW do you expect us to get her there?”
“Pick her up. Carefully,” Batman responded directly, yet again simply, as he turned and headed for the door, not so much as giving a second glance at the demon.
Snarling Etrigan looked at Batman as he left.
“Do I look like some bat butler?!" he yelled. "We should be out tracking Morgaine la Fey.” His words fell on deaf ears, however, as he watched the caped crusader slowly exit the warehouse, leaving only him and the mare. Turning towards the mare, he gave out a sigh.
“Carefully, he says. She’s a horse! How do you pick a horse up carefully?” scratching at his head for only a moment, the demon gave out a sigh before bending himself down towards the mare. Initially, he rolled the mare onto her back, folding up one wing against her side in the process. Once done, he lifted her by the back, letting her other wing and head hang just over his right shoulder. She was just too big for him to lift any other way. “She must weigh half a ton,” Etrigan grumbled as he started walking backwards, momentarily stumbling before righting himself with a grunt and moving forward. Doing this he was able to let her other wing, mane, and tail drag on the ground without stepping on it.
It was a tedious process, but eventually he managed to make his way outside, where Batman was waiting.
"... I hope you don’t expect me to carry her all the way there,” Etrigan said as he quickly glanced around the area, looking for someway, any way he could rid himself of the weight that threatened to make him sore for the coming week.
Turning Etrigan, saw a standard 10-foot box delivery van. Of course. It was the docks, after all, and there were plenty of warehouses here, so why wouldn’t there be shipping trucks? Looking at the logo on the side as he made his way towards the vehicle, Etrigan shrugged, “Do you think this 'Wayne' guy will mind us borrowing one of his vans?” he asked the Dark Knight, receiving no response, but not caring either, as he then heaved the mare into the back of the van, before then closing it with another grunt.
Batman, seemingly satisfied, turned away from the truck and began to make his way back to his own vehicle.
"You drive the truck. I’ll meet you there,” he said. Etrigan, glancing towards his, rose a concerned brow as a possibility rose in his mind.
“And if the not-so-little lady wakes up?” he questioned.
“Deal with her gently. And, remember it’s still a little girl,” Batman emphasized, before then boarding his vehicle and driving off, the rubber of the wheels grinding against the pavement, momentarily fighting for traction, a result of the lost friction that came from the rain, before gaining purchase, the car shooting off into the distance.
“Just a little girl.. 'Just a little girl'? She’s got more magical energy then she can handle, and he wants me to remember she’s just a little girl?! Next time he runs into Catwoman I’ll have to remind him, she’s just a lady, and that he shouldn't hurt her!” Etrigan complained before hopping inside of the truck. He began to work on hot wiring it so as to make sure it would move in the first place.
2: Sunrise and Knight Watches.
The rain continued to fall at a near constant rate as lightning traced across the sky, continuing to outline the brooding clouds from which it came. In the streets of Gotham, a truck could be seen making its way throughout the various paths and roads that were provided by the city.
The driver’s compartment was a little cramped for the demon that drove the truck — an odd sight to see in of itself — but he was able to drive well enough for the time being. The rain gave him some trouble, of course, but nothing too major. As he drove, street lights flickered and dimmed on his way down Gotham’s streets, sometimes functional, others simply flickering randomly or long since shut down.
To most that saw it, it was nothing but a typical delivery van. No one would consider its cargo to be anything other than stereos, or maybe computer parts. No one would consider the implications of its cargo other than thinking some spoiled rich Gothemite was getting a new 72” TV.
The truck drove down the less used streets of the city, avoiding the overpass and freeway in their entirety. It drove through the residential neighborhoods of old decaying houses, passing over pothole after pothole as it struggled to keep itself righted. Most of the buildings that surrounded the truck were built years before the era of prefab and quick construction. It was all old stone construction rather than even brick, easily making it out to be the much more old and decrepit part of Gotham. Of course, with modernization, these homes were soon thought of as obsolete, and as such, were left with little to no one to inhabit them, instead simply holding off the elements for their nonexistent owners. The dark greys and blacks of these buildings crisscrossed with lines of white mortar that had faded to grey and yellow over time, only serving to further exemplify their age and condition.
It, however, wasn't until the truck had reached one of these houses in particular that it eventually came to a stop, pulling into the driveway of the home before being placed in park, it's engine shutting off as this went on. Like most, it was two stories, with vaulted windows and dark wooden doors. There was no garage, for these houses were built before cars were common, and instead the driveway cut through what used to be part of the front yard, stopping by the side of the front door.
Lightning flashed again, casting the shadows of the house and highlighting the rounded tower atop of it, typical of the architecture from its time. The drapes had been drawn, and none of the lights were currently on, though that was to be expected. Opening the driver’s side door the demonic delivery man stepped out.
The Wayne Tech cap on his head clashed heavily with the dark reds and yellows of his hellish attire. He hadn't particularly known why he had put it on, really, but a part of him just felt it appropriate to wear a trucker’s hat as he drove the vehicle. This was the closest he could find to one within the vehicle.
“Well," he suddenly heard someone say, "that’s an interesting look.” The woman’s voice came from the darkness of the veranda, clearly out of humor as it came through the ever present rain. The deeply shadowed entryway was sheltered from this rain, a safe place to stand and wait.
“I figured it would add some class, witch,” Etrigan commented with a smirk as he then walked around to the back of the truck, not giving the woman another glance, though hiding his smile, as he did so. Grabbing the latch of the container that was held to the back of the vehicle, he opened the rear door, letting it slide up until it opened completely with a loud metallic clang. The body of the winged unicorn was still there, as he had figured, and still unconscious. Yet, even drugged, the magic about the being was clear to see. Its mane and tail flowed and shimmered in its sleep as the colors of the rainbow that rested upon them seemed to move on their own.
“It’s mage, not witch. I’m a magician, where’s a witch is a religious order.” Zatanna corrected, quite swiftly at that, as she looked into the back of the truck, spotting the being within. “Not to say the local coven didn’t try and recruit me though." She added in shortly after, before focusing her attention on the alicorn within the vehicle. Noting this, Etrigan spoke up, echoing what he had been told by the Dark Knight.
“Remember, she’s a child.” He spoke with a chuckle, “We are supposed to be careful.” Rolling his eyes slightly at this thought, the demon reached down, grabbed a hind leg and started dragging the mare out of the back of the van. Quite the opposite of careful, as anyone, especially the Mage Zatanna, could tell.
“Oh come on...” Zatanna breathed out with a sigh, shaking her head as she then drew out her wand. Looking at Etrigan, who was still preoccupied attempting to move the mare, she smirked and spoke clearly as she flicked her wand.
“Sassimer suproc,” She uttered, A glow quickly formed around the mare before promptly lifting her off the bed of the truck and floating her towards the door. Etrigan watched as this happened, glancing back and forth between the Mage and the mare, before giving out a sigh.
Etrigan then turned and walked up to the front door beside the floating mare, opening it and stepping aside.
“After you,” he offered, to which Zatanna smiled, flipping the mare onto her back, curling her legs as she supported her head and back, and tucking her wings tight against her body. Sticking her tongue out at Etrigan teasingly, Zatanna walked with the mare in through the door.
"The concept of 'carefully' clearly seems to take a woman’s touch,” she commented, to which Etrigan gave out a light snort.
“Show off," he commented as he made his way inside his home, following shortly after Zatanna and the being that she held. "Just drop her anywhere, but not on the furniture.” He then added before promptly making his way towards the study of the house, where Zatanna followed shortly after.
Gently, Zatanna laid the mare down on the floor of the study, conjuring a pillow and placing it under her head.
“I’ve never seen a unicorn in real life, let alone a winged unicorn,” she commented, a look of interest about her as she lifted a finger up to her chin.
She knelt beside the mare and softly rubbed her neck, believing it to be a rather soothing motion, as far as she could tell.
“We need to figure out how to change her back. Morgaine la Fey used this,” another voice then promptly said, causing both Zatanna and Etrigan to flinch in surprise before looking towards the source, seeing Batman standing square in between the both of them. Acting as though nothing were wrong, he walked out of the shadows, tossing the stone he had taken to Zatanna. The Mage was barely able to react in time, catching the stone, and momentarily slipping with it, before ultimately getting a secure grip around it.
“Etrigan," he then said, "we could use Jason Blood's expertise here.” Hearing this, the demon gave out a groan, before then turning to sarcasm.
“Aww, and here I thought you just wanted me to change so I didn’t scare the child again,” the demon smirked momentarily, before heading into his office.
Zatanna, in the meanwhile, was looking over the gem she now held, recognizing what it was, though just barely.
“The Eye of Ra? I don’t know much about this. This was supposed to be lost thousands of years ago. For a while there were some counterfeit versions of this floating around on the markets, and in private collections but this is the real thing.” She commented, her gaze still fixated on the object even as a man holding a book walked into the room from where Etrigan had left.
Clearing out his throat, so as to gain the Mage's attention, Jason Blood began to read aloud the entry from the book he held.
"The eye of Ra. It is said to give the user control over the sun itself. Sought after by the Setites and Ophidians to forever dim or lower the sun, the gem allowed the user an ability to draw energy directly from the sun to amplify or extend the power of a spell,” he quoted, before promptly closing the book and laying it on the table.
Looking over the mare again, and noting the mark of the sun on where she's imagine her hips to be, Zatanna traced this mark as she tilted her head ever so slightly.
“So this mark shows her tie to the sun now, I'd imagine. It certainly seems about right. Even now I can feel the magic in it,” Jason scoffed at the apparent understatement.
“That’s an awful lot of power too. It will be hard to separate the magic from her if she can continue to draw from the sun itself,” Jason commented, looking to Batman for a short moment.
“Just as well, Morgaine may continue to try and hunt her. After all, she is still a fairly large beacon of power.”
“Then we need to teach her to mask and control her power.” Zatanna returned as she continued stroking the mark, mostly out of curiosity at this point. “She’s young, and if what you said about earlier was true, then when she gets scared she could have surges of power and hurt other people.”
It was at that moment that the former girl gave out a slight groggy moan, her ear twitching as she opened her eyes, albeit slowly, and lifted her head as much as she could in her current state. Looking around with a slight wobble, she blinked a few times, trying to clear the fog from her eyes and head. Her eyes still had trouble focusing with her suddenly wider arc of vision.
“That dosage should have kept her out for hours.” Batman stated as he pulled the injector he had previously used out of his belt, more than prepared to return the mare to her previous, almost comatose state.
“You can’t just keep drugging her!” Zatanna told him with a bit of a scowl, then moved herself around so as to lift the mare’s head and began to stroke it gently. The mare then proceeded to look towards her, to which the Mage gave out a gentle smile.
“It's alright. Stay calm,” she whispered, though it didn't seem to help at first.
“What? What’s happening?” Jerking her head around, the mare looked around, blinking with clear fear across her features. Her voice practically caused Zatanna to lose all semblance of hearing she had all at once, causing the very architecture around her and the other two with her to tremble, alongside several books to fall over from their shelves into the floor. Jason barely held his tongue as he saw this, a sigh escaping him instead.
Noting this, Zatanna closed her eyes, turning her head quickly and covered an ear with one hand, though she kept her other hand on the mare’s cheek.
“You need to speak quieter, don’t use magic in your voice. Concentrate and focus on speaking softly,” the Mage spoke, to which the former-girl blinked.
“What…" she initially said, before then realizing the volume of her own voice as, shortly after, attempting what the Mage had said to do. "What….” she repeated as she closed her eyes in an attempt to calm and focus herself, her voice lowered with each try.
"What… is going on?” she then finally finished, her voice now much more bearable for the three others within the room to handle.
“Ok, keep concentrating, keep your voice down. You were kidnapped, but we rescued you. You’re safe now,” Zatanna informed, and soothed, softly.
Looking around, the girl shook her head a few times.
“Why…. why does everything look so strange?” she asked, still unsure as to why her sight felt so off.
“Maybe because you’re not actually looking at things directly. Try turning your head more towards me, and lowering it a bit.” Zatanna recommended, smiled as she put two fingers against girl's muzzle, pressed down softly to bring her cone of vision onto herself.
Blinking, the girl slowly looked around, turning her head as she took in her surroundings. focusing more on her central cone of vision rather than her peripherals. Of course, this wasn't what really mattered to her. Rather, she simply had one question on her mind at the time.
“Will I be able to go home soon?” she asked.
“Not just yet. Umm... you haven’t gotten a good look at yourself yet, have you?” Zatanna questioned, a bad feeling already beginning to form in the pit of her stomach as she did. As she saw the mare shake her head no, Zatanna sighed, reaching for her wand and waving as she spoke, “Eretcelfer siluceps.”
A large oval mirrored surface wobbled into existence as it was beckoned, hovering in front of the girl’s prone form. Moving aside carefully, Zatanna allowed the young mare to see herself for the first time. Giggling softly, Zatanna watched the mare as she wiggled her ears, stuck out her tongue, and made a few different facial expressions trying to come to terms with the fact that it really was her reflection.
“Why am I a…” Anya started, then stopped, unsure of how to say it.
“Winged unicorn?” Jason Blood offered. “Or, rather, as mythology refers to it, an alicorn. Really, I’m not totally sure. It seems Morgaine la Fey was trying to summon a unicorn and transformed you into that by accident.”
Looking back, she blinked, lifting and lowering a wing slowly.
“But I can’t be… I need to go home; I need to go to school; I need my mom…” her mind once more beginning to shift itself into the realm of fear, the girl looked up towards the Mage, her cheeks already starting to get damp from the tears in her eyes. This sight alone broke Zatanna's heart, but she calmly spoke nonetheless.
“Stay calm, we are working on it. We just need some time. What we need from you though is to try and stay in control of your power. You are putting out a lot of energy right now and it’s very noticeable.” Zatanna said. “I need you to focus on me, okay?”
Taking a breath, the girl nodded slowly.
“But what if you can’t fix me? What if I’m stuck like this?”
“We will find a way to help you. I swear it,” Zatanna stated firmly. “Now we need you to focus and concentrate. We need you to control the magic in you, make it as small as you can so it doesn’t give you away.”
“I... I don’t know how,” Anya whimpered, to which Zatanna put her hand gently on the mare’s cheek.
"Relax. Concentrate and you should be able to feel the power in you. Gather it up and hide it, use the magic itself to hide it. It’s not about suppressing it or pushing it away, just concentrate on making it dimmer.” The girl blinked at this.
“Dimmer? Smaller?” the girl questioned, to which the Mage nodded. Though unsure, the girl returned the nod as best she could, closing her eyes before then delving into her own mind.
‘I need to make it smaller…’ she thought to herself, her horn flaring to life, as she concentrated.
‘I need to hide it in me, make it smaller,’ the energy of her magic wrapped around herself, filling the previously darkened room with light, though not nearly as intense as it once was.
‘If the Pretty Pretty Pegasus can do it, then I can too.’ Slowly, her mane shifted from its rainbow colors to a simple soft pink. The mane shrank down from its long ethereal length to a shorter fluffy pink style that, in some ways, seemed more natural, were it not for the color.
Her form also shrank, slowly from a large mare the size of a horse to something more akin in size to a Shetland or maybe a miniature horse. She still had her wings and horn but they too shrank down in size to match her younger form.
When she was done, she sat panting, her magic hidden inside the form of what looked like one of the Pretty Pretty Pegasus from the show she watched, except without the pointy feet.
With a soft sigh she looked up wiggling her tail involuntarily, and full of excitement she looked between Zatanna and Jason.
"Well," she asked, "did it work?”
Jason Blood covered his face with his hand, shaking his head with a sigh. The fact that she wasn’t putting out magical static now was a definite improvement, sure, but... her form... She was only 8 after all, he supposed, and her form mirrored that youth. A little filly alicorn with all of the… cuteness… that that entailed.
She looked at herself in the mirror and squeed as she smiled brightly. She stomped her forehooves rapidly as she cried out with excitement, “I did it! I did it! I did it, right?”
Giggling at her excitement, Zatanna sat before her, covering her mouth.
"You sure did. You aren’t going to be as easy to find now. Good job. Right Jason?” she then asked, looking to the man who, with a shake of his head, looked back to his book.
“Umm, right. Well done,” he said simply, unsure of what else to add at this point.
“Well Bats, what do you think?" Zatanna then questioned, shifting her gaze to where the Dark Knight stood. Or rather, had been standing. "Bats?” Zatanna repeated, seeing that Batman had already chosen to vanish, leaving the child in their care. Shaking her head she huffed, “I hate it when he does that.”
Getting up, slowly, the girl wobbled a little bit as her legs started shaking, then fell down and gave out a whimper. She looked up at Zatanna her eyes filling with fear and uncertainty. She stuck out her lower lip quivering it as she sniffled, with wide eyes.
“Oh, what’s wrong?” Zatanna asked with a soft smile as she noted this look.
“How… how do I walk?”
Smiling softly Zatanna shook her head, “ereno suivel.”
Wrapping her arms around the foal, she picked her up.
“I think we’ll work on that tomorrow. It's late, and you’ve had a big day. Let’s put you to bed." Lifting her completely, Zatanna rose a brow for a short moment.
"Actually she’s lighter than I expected like this.” She commented to herself in barely a whisper, nobody except for herself hearing this.
“Guest rooms are on the second floor,” Jason informed her as he down with another book he had on hand. “I’ll continue researching while you play mother hen,” he then added, watching as the Mage, with a roll of her eyes, made her way out of the study.
Zatanna carried the little filly into the guest room at a slow pace, being careful as she made her way up the stairs before, eventually, reaching the guest bedroom she had been informed of and opening it with a simple twist of the door knob, rather than needing some fancy spell. It wasn’t overtly fancy and, thankfully it was somewhat modern, with none of the hideous gargoyle like images that had surrounded the house.
Laying her down on the bed, Zatanna took care to tuck her in under the covers. At least, as best as she could when it came down to doing so with a filly. She sat looking down at the small foal as she started to stroke her mane.
“Don’t worry. We will find a way to help you.”
Yawning once, the former child nodded.
"Tell mommy I’m safe please…”
“Bats will,” Zatanna assured and smiled as the filly seemed to settle into the bed ever so slightly more. "By the way, what's your name, little one?" Zatanna then asked, only then realizing that, up until this very moment, she was not aware of it.
Sleep overcoming the little thing, she barely managed to speak before ultimately closing her eyes and testing. It was late after all, nearly midnight and well past an 8 year olds bedtime.
"My name's... Anya." And with that, she fell asleep.
***
“Anya! School!”
Anya yawned as the voice of her mother came through her door, effectively awakening her from her slumber as she then pushed herself out of bed. She was born and lived all her life in Gotham, which wasn’t saying much since she was only 8.
Still, to her Gotham was her whole world. It wasn’t as popular amongst tourists as Metropolis or Star City, but still it was her hometown, and she took pride in it.
Her room was decorated in the style of her favorite cartoon ever, the Pretty Pretty Pegasus series. Her sheets, drapes, and even walls had unicorns and pegasi on them from the show. She even had figurines from the show decorating her dresser.
Though, ponies weren’t all her life was about. She had other loves too, such as sports. She also liked some of the academic classes at school, even if some of them were rather boring to her.
Following her morning routine, she got dressed in her usual pair slacks and her shirt. It was too cold out for her skirt, especially if she was riding her bike to school.
Once she was ready, she made her way out of her room and downstairs, sliding down the banister and laughing as she hit the carpet, causing it to slide with her then ran into the kitchen for breakfast.
It wasn't until she had arrived at the table, greeting her parents and giving them a cheery 'good morning', That she began to get curious about her homework.
“Dad, what’s a Vegan?” Anya asked as she swung her legs below her chair.
She knew she didn't live in largest house, only having two bedrooms, one bathroom upstairs, a small kitchen, and a living room-dining room combo, but it was home. They tended to use the kitchen for meals more though.
“It’s someone who doesn’t like meat, eggs or milk,” her mom mom responded before her father could, she put down the french toast, bacon, and milk she had prepared for the girl before her, to which she happily dug into.
Both her mom and dad worked, her dad at the local pig processing plant, her mom a cashier at the corner store. Neither job paid very well but combined it was ok for a modest life.
Looking at her plate, Anya tried to picture only eating the bread, as a vegan would apparently do, but then shook her head.
“Yuck, that’s so boring. Even cake has eggs in it. So they couldn’t even have cake… or ice cream. Or hotdogs, or hamburgers, how can you live without hamburgers?”
Laughing softly her dad shook his head, though secretly he agreed with what his daughter had just asked.
“There are lots of foods other than just hotdogs and hamburgers. There are carrots, mushrooms, green beans, and so on.”
The expression on Anya’s face spoke volumes.
“Not even cheese pizza? Or mac and cheese?” Her mom laughed and tweaked Anya’s nose gently, causing her to give out a slight laugh as she moved away out of reflex.
“You don’t have to be a vegan if you don’t want to be, why do you ask?”
“Our phys-ed teacher said it was a healthy life choice,” Anya replied. “Why is everything healthy always so boring?”
Her father chuckled and lifted the bagel he was eating, looking at it and then at his wife.
“From the mouth of children,” he commented, though Anya was not really sure of what he was referring to.
Finishing her breakfast, she washed her face and hands quickly at the kitchen sink before running outside. Her next favorite thing aside from the ponies themselves was parked and locked up beside the front stairs.
Her bike was a fairly standard girl’s BMX frame with a pink and lavender paint job. That, however, is where things ended. Her dad had replaced everything on it from the tires with a much stronger and better grip tire that didn’t suffer as much wear. The breaks were actually of adult BMX’s with special water grip system allowing the bike to stop even when wet, which was a big plus in a city like Gotham. He even took the gears from an old boy's BMX and put it on hers so she had a 14 speed. It was the best girl’s bike in the school, if not the whole city. And it was all because of her daddy’s love.
Putting on her helmet she unlocked her bike and rolled it out onto the street. She looked both ways, giggling before she started peddling hard, racing to school. She was fast on it, faster than even the sixth grader’s bikes.
Sometimes she felt like she could outrace even the rays of the sun. Zipping down the streets, she was careful to stop at the lights, but often she found herself timing it so the lights were always with her. Time and time again her bike got her to school safely, and today was no different.
Parking her bike at the stand she locked it up and ran inside.
School was always a safe place for her. She had friends, she had teachers she liked, and she had classes she liked. Science was always boring, just like math, but English and history were fun.
Though, again, she always argued with her history teacher. He kept saying things like pegasi weren’t real, even though everyone knew Themyscira was real.
Looking at Anya sternly the teacher pointed at the door.
“I told you, pegasi and unicorns aren’t real. Out of the class little filly!” she recalled that day vividly. She remembered all of the kids turning to looking laugh at her, alongside the words they spoke.
“Look she thinks ponies are real.”
“Look she thinks she’s a pony.”
“Anya wants to be a pony.”
'Celestia, it's morning. Can you feel the sun?'
Blinking Anya dropped to all fours, looking around as her mane and tail blew in the unseen breeze.
***
Opening her eyes wide open, Anya found herself to be shivering as she looked around. She found herself in an unfamiliar room, initially unsure as to how she had gotten there, and why.
Looking down she saw her forelegs and hooves, unconsciously uncovered by then by her movement in her sleep.
Was she still dreaming? Was school the waking world and this the dream? She wasn’t sure what was real anymore. Except for this feeling, it drew her eyes to the window, the feeling of new life, of new light, of a new day.
Looking through the window she could see the sun starting to rise, she could feel it starting to rise. She could feel it calling to her. Closing her eyes her horn flared to life, mirroring the colors of the dawn, filling the room with a beautiful array of golds and reds. Slowly her wings spread wide as she gradually lifted off the bed. Her energy surged as it filled the room, the whole house even, as she felt as the sun seem to rise through her.
The sun marks on her hips glowed with magical energy as the new day’s sun came into view. It was her first sunrise. It was her first day.
3: Of Knights and Pawns
The candles in the room flickered and danced with the light breeze, casting shadows throughout the room. Scattered around were figurines, stone cut gargoyles and demons. Embossments and reliefs of different creatures rarely seen outside of nightmares decorated the walls.
Books lined two of these walls. Dusty ancient tomes, many of which written in long forgotten languages. Several of the tomes were bound in hides or skins of things better left unmentioned. The cat paced back and forth on the desk as the boy tapped his fingers together.
Arching her back and hissing, the cat’s hackles rose. All of the fur on her back went straight up as her tail puffed out. The crystal ball flared brightly for a few moments, being enough to swiftly cause the cat to back away. The energy overwhelmed the crystal, causing it to crack. Slowly at first, but soon ruptures formed all over the ball. With one last flash the crystal ball could no longer take the stress and finally shattering. A stream of smoke rose from the glass fragments, ever so slightly filling the room with a faint smell of primordial dust before fading shortly after.
“Well now Teekl, this is something we should check into,” the boy said with a smile, speaking to his cat as though expecting a reaction.
The cat hissed again and pawed at the shattered crystal ball. It was not happy one little bit.
“I know you haven’t sensed a power like that in a long time," the boy told the feline. "It would be interesting if we could sway it to the side of Chaos though," the boy pondered as he stood up.
"Do you think you could track it?”
The cat spat once and hopped up onto the boy’s shoulder before then giving out a single meow.
***
Zatanna ran into Anya’s room, blinking as she had felt that one magical pulse that had emanated from it. A pulse that not only she, but likely anyone that was even slightly magically attuned across the world felt, if not beyond.
Looking around she entered the room. She saw Anya sitting on her bed, once more in her fully grown mare form, her horn glowing as she looked out at the sunrise.
Jason was the next to run in.
“Is everything all right?” he asked, before spotting the mare and going silent.
Looking over at the two for a short second, Anya smiled pointing a hoof outside.
"Sunrise,” she said simply and cheerily, as if completely ignorant to everything else that had been occurring.
Walking over to the mare, and giving out a slight giggle at the very child-like simplicity of the mare before her — which was to be expected, what with her being a child after all — Zatanna spoke.
“Oh Anya, remember what we said about hiding?" she questioned.
Looking down at her forelegs Anya giggled ever so lightly.
"Oops, one sec,” she returned apologetically, closing her eyes, and allowing her horn to glow as her form shrunk back down to that of a little filly.
“How’s that?” she then asked, to which Jason covered his face shook his head slowly.
“... It will do,” Jason then glanced to Zatanna, a brow raised in a questioning form.
"By the way, 'Anya'? You and I both know that won't do at all. Last thing we need is others knowing her name," looking to Jason for a moment, the Mage rose a finger to her chin in thought.
“Fair point," she conceded, before looking back to the filly upon the bed. "We need to think of another name for you, a secret name other than Anya,” she told the former girl, to which she responded with a tilt of her head.
She blinked.
"Why?”
Before either of the two could answer, they found themselves flinching once again, as a voice came from behind them.
"Because there are people that would see you as a threat, or worse, use your name to find your family,” Batman stated as he made his way into the room, Zatanna and Jason both looking to him before giving out a sigh.
'Geez,' Jason thought to himself, 'has he ever heard of saying hello instead of giving others heart attacks?!'
“Why would they do that?” Anya asked the man in the bat costume. “I’m not a threat to anyone.”
The Dark Knight nodded at the possibility, but spoke up once more.
"Maybe. But still, it's best if we give you an alternate name,” he assured, glancing back to Zatanna and Jason.
“Like a superhero name!” the little filly shouted perkily, her ears going straight up as she started wiggling her tail involuntarily, an idea already in mind.
“Well I like Tia so how about… the Great and Powerful Tia!” Anya suggested happily, attempting to pull the bed sheets around her like a cape as best as she could with hooves. Unused to hooves however, and with no skill in magic, she did her best just to get it around her neck and letting it drape down her back. Even this however, could not hold back her enthusiasm.
“Oh, should I have a hood or a witch’s hat?" she then questioned.
Batman simply lifted an eyebrow looking at the filly, somewhat at a loss of how to respond to that.
“Or, do I need a mask to hide my identity?” Anya asked as she then looked back to Zatanna, her tail wiggling as she perked her ears.
The Mage was barely able to hold her heart from melting at the sight before her, watching a little girl — sort of — want to be a superhero... which was quite ironic, considering the company before her.
Making her way towards her.
“Well, while 'the great and powerful Tia' is rather catchy, that’s a little bit of a mouthfull to say,” she replied, placing a hand atop the filly's head and rubbing it playfully. This earned a giggle out of Anya.
“Then, how about Tia when I’m small and Celestia when I’m big like my toy?” she questioned, though Zatanna wasn't quite sure of what toy she spoke of. The girl had lost it back in the warehouse, after all, and didn't seem to have brought it with her on her way here. Neither had Jason, or rather Etrigan, if he had seen it.
“Tia works fine,” Zatanna told her, before looking to the caped crusader for confirmation. “Doesn’t it, Bats?”
Staring for barely a moment or two, the Dark Knight did not reply, instead silently turning and walking out of the room.
"I need to check on some things,” he said simply.
Seeing this, Anya, or rather, Tia, quivered her lower lip, a frown on her face as she looked up to Zatanna.
"He doesn’t like me, does he?” she questioned, to which Zatanna just waved him off with a scoff.
"Him? Pfft, he’s just a big grumpy grouch. He doesn’t like anyone he doesn’t trust, and he doesn’t trust anyone. Trust me," Zatanna said with a firm nod.
“Just give him time,” Zatanna said then watched as Tia’s horn lit up on its own filling the room with light. Looking around slowly she blinked confusedly, an odd sensation going up her spine.
“Miss Zatanna, do you…”
“Yes little one, I feel it too," she said, her voice now holding an undertone of seriousness beneath it. "I think we have company.” Standing, Zatanna made her way over to the window of the room, looking outside towards where she felt the odd energy coming from.
“Good company?” Tia hoped, timidly standing up on wobbly legs.
Looking towards the door Zatanna called out, “Bats, Jason, something wicked this way comes.”
The street lights which had just recently gone out with the rising sun, now flared to life one by one as the mists and shadows rolled forward down the streets. The darkness they brought tripped the sensors just long enough for the lights to flare to life one last time. One last glimmer before their end.
Tendrils of shadow began growing around the lamp posts like some kind of thorny vine until they reached the offensive lights. Enveloping them one by one, the darkness compressed around the lights causing them to explode.
The mists and shadows crept along the ground, expanding out from the street sides towards the houses that lined the streets. Weaving through the grasses and leaving traces of frost where the dark vapors drifted. Animals, birds, and even insects fled the darkness in terror… or tried to.
“Wait here,” Zatanna told Tia as she ran downstairs. Shouting across the library she flung the door open.
"Jason, we need Etrigan!”
A child’s laughter filled the air, and echoed down the street. Slowly coming out of the shadows, forms could be seen, twisted creatures like some cross between bugs and armored knights of old shambling down the street.
“Come out come out wherever you are,” the child’s voice said in a twisted singsong. “I just want to play.”
Making her way outside of the house, not so much as waiting for either of her two other allies to follow, she went towards the middle of the road the darkness had begun to envelop. Zatanna crossed her arms as she looked at the child before her. Child, though is a deceptive term. This was a chaos lord after all. He was hundreds of years old, and far more powerful user of magic then even her. But she wasn’t going to let him run wild.
“What are you doing here, Klarian? Isn’t this a little far from your normal playground?” Zatanna interrogated, readying her want for whatever the chaos lord may have been planning.
“Teekl here sensed something. Something new. So I came to see if it wanted to play,” Klarian answered simply as a feline crawled onto his shoulder. Klarian reaching for and scratching cat behind its ear, earning a soft purr from it.
“There’s nothing here for you to play with,” Zatanna said firmly, narrowing her eyes.
Shaking his head Klarian flicked his hand dismissively, “Take your baby magic and run off to some stage somewhere. This is big Mage business. Something or someone here caught our interest, and since they are not aligned, they will need to choose. Order or Chaos.”
“Since when? You don’t need to choose,” Zatanna returned, waving her own wand as though shooing away an animal. “So get out of here.”
Thoroughly tired of speaking with her by that point, Klarian gave a slight whirl of his hand before conjuring a blast of fire in Zatanna’s direction. There was little attempt to actually hit her, just a reminder that she was out-classed. The blast was still powerful enough however to cause a nearby car to explode, the shockwaves blowing Zatanna sideways and causing her to shield her face with her arms.
A handful of spheres flew towards Klarian at that moment, exploding on the ground in brilliant flashes of white, yellow, and blue. An instant later, the air was filled with thick greyish black smoke. Landing beside Zatanna, Batman looked at her.
"Are you ok?” The Mage nodded slowly, rubbing her head slightly as she stood herself up once again.
“Fine, Bats.”
As the smoke cleared some, the purple glow of Klarian’s shield became visible. With childlike laughter, Klarian looked between the two before him.
“Really? You brought friends? Couldn’t you find someone useful like Doctor Fate?" he questioned, a smug smile over his face.
“That depends. Will I do?” Etrigan roared as he suddenly came into view, unleashing a spout of fire that washed over Klarion’s shield.
Klarian put his hand up strengthening his shield against the demon’s blast and huffed.
“Three on one? So much for being heroes. You’re just a bunch of bullies. I guess I’ll need to make some friends of my own then,” hearing this, Etrigan let up some on the fire he spouted, giving out a sharp laugh.
“Yeah, I kinda figured that was the only way for someone like you to have friends. By making them,” Etrigan taunted. However, Klarian simply ignored him, turning towards the trees and bushes that lined the sides of the streets. At least, the ones that had not yet died if the frost from his shadows.
"Et da servis chaos vires vocare lignea meum!” He chanted as he pointed towards the plants, green tendrils of energy rising from the ground before wrapping around them. The energy pulled them down, twisting them and reforming them into servants of the witch boy. Branches and bark reformed into wolf-like creatures, wooden stakes becoming teeth and claws, the energy used to create them concentrating in their eyes, leaving them with a green glow.
With a primordial howl the wooden wolves scattered, heading not just for Batman, Zatanna, and Etrigan, but for the houses as well.
“Really? Wolf golems?” Zatanna questioned as she then threw her hands at one that charged her.
“Citenik tsalb!”
A wave of force extended from her hands, shattering the wolf and sending twigs and sticks skidding across the ground.
Throwing a pair of bat-a-rangs, the projectiles imbedded themselves in the wooden backs of the golems, a single red light on each flashing briefly before the devices exploded, showering a small area with debris.
“Oh look, the child has created timber wolves,” Etrigan said with a chuckle.
Zatanna blinked looking over at Etrigan, as she processed what he had said.
"Timber wolves? Really?” she asked, raising a brow as she looked to him.
“Well, they look like wolves, and are made of timber, so yes. What, I can't be allowed to speak my mind?" Zatanna simply stated at him, speaking volumes all the same. Etrigan shook his head.
“Either way, we are not done yet,” Etrigan spoke, pointing to the debris of the wolves as it all began to reform into wolf forms it had all been blown from once more.
As this occurred, the three could barely hear the sound of a wolf's howl behind them, followed shortly by a little girl's scream.
“And it seems they have found the little princess. Oh joy...” Etragan spoke with a sarcastic groan.
“Oh, she’s a princess you say?” Klarian said with a smile, apparently not having taken note of his sarcasm. “This should make things even more fun then."
Turning, Batman ran for the house throwing another handful of explosive charges into the timber wolves, shattering them again.
“Etrigan burn the wolves,” he commanded gruffly, the demon leaping back as Klarian pointed his fingers outwards as a child would a pretend firearm, firing blasts of energy at the demon. Roaring out, the demon unleashed a blast of fire that vaporized the wood before it could reform, while also colliding with the energy blast and causing it to implode.
Zatanna, having begun to make her way towards the house, had just reached the lawn when Anya, now in her larger form, Celestia, came crashing out of the window with two wolves on her. One held onto a wing with its jaws, keeping it from moving, whilst the other attempted to bite her hind leg. Throwing her hand up Zatanna yelled, "Citenik tsalb! And err… Tserra Llaf! Oh, whatever!”
The energy blast that came forth as a result knocked the wolves clear off, seconds before Celestia was caught in Zatanna’s magical grasp and lowered slowly to the ground.
“Ohh, an alicorn!” Klarian observed happily, rubbing his hands together. "Just think of the fun we could have with that Teekl.”
Digging her feet in, Zatanna stood her ground between the witchboy and Celestia. Several timberwolves formed a semicircle before her, one howling eerily while the rest seemed to glare at the two. Batman moved to stand beside Zatanna, drawing out his Tazerknuckles and slamming them together causing electricity to dance between them. Finally, Etrigan snarled as he as well stood on the other side of Zatanna.
“Protecting the princess are we?" Klarian noted bemusedly, just as Etrigan then proceeded to roll his eyes.
“She’s not really a princess, you idiot us, she’s a-” Etragan started before Zatanna put her hand in front of the demons face.
“Idiot? How dare you!” Klarian shrieked in rage, offended by the claim as he crossed his arms and lashed out, sending a wave of fire washing down the street. The heat was so intense it instantly melted cars and vaporized flammable objects, including the timberwolves.
“Oh hell!” Zatanna said in a panic. “Dleihs Llaw!!!”
Her spell quickly formed a glowing red wall in front of them, but she knew it wouldn't be enough. This wasn’t like trying to stop or counter one of the shadow wizard's attacks. She gave it everything she had, though, at the very least hoping it would diminish some of the power held behind it.
The wall of fire slammed into her shield, barely being held back for a second or two, before shattering it like glass. Zatanna screamed, falling backwards from the force of the blast as Batman threw his cloak over himself and the mage. The flames left molten tar in their wake as they hit finally hit and exploded up and outwards.
“Mrowl?” The cat upon his shoulders commented, to which Klarian rose a brow.
“What? I did not get carried away,” he assured.
“Meow.”
“No, I didn’t go overboard either,” Klarian huffed, watching as the smoke cleared before him, showing the three individuals that stood there, unharmed.
“See? They survived it,” he then commented, unaware of what he said.
“MEOW!" hearing the feline, Klarian blinked, looking at the three before, with wide eyes, suddenly giving out a shocked yell.
"Wait, they survived that?!”
Searching his mind for whatever possibility may have allowed the three to survive, Klarian was halted as he took note of Celestia, now standing as she held her wings up before her, shielding herself in fear. The all-too-familiar glow around her horn, a brilliant magenta coloring that came from it was mirrored by a large shield in the shape of a giant wing in front of the four of them. The shield had, apparently, blocked the attack, leaving a ring of undamaged asphalt around them amidst a sea of bubbling tar.
Panting slowly Celestia lowered her wing, and as she did, the shield lowered and faded away. Turning she faced Klarian, her eyes glowing pure white as the glow in her horn grew brighter. Her mane and tail dancing with energy in the ethereal winds as she looked at the Lord of Chaos.
“Mrowl.”
“Unexpected is an understatement,” Klarian returned to the feline, a brow of his raising before he addressed the being that had done this.
“Well, you must be that magical energy we’ve sensed,” he commented, watching as a large globe of polychromatic light and energy formed above her horn, crackling and whirling. Celestia, seemingly out of instinct, stomped her forelegs into the ground and let out an almost primal whinny, before pointing her empowered horn towards him. Seeing where this was going, and rather swiftly at that,Klarian widened his eyes.
“Oh heck,” he said simply, a slightly panicked expression on his face as Klarian swiftly jumped backwards through a red portal, vanishing just as the energy blast was released. The blast ran down the street, cutting a trench nearly ten feet deep. It ripped up power lines, water pipes and sewage pipes. It sent the remains of cars flying in high arcs as it ripped a trench nearly half a mile long.
To put it simply, it decimated everything in its path.
It wasn't until a moment later, however, that Celestia wobbled, the feeling in her legs wavering ever so slightly.
Batman kept the cloak up to shield himself from her as he pulled back the tranquilizer. Quickly, he drew a second charge from his belt loading the injector just in case.
This proved unnecessary, however, as Celestia staggered for a moment before falling on her side unconscious.
The only movement from her was her slow breathing as she slept on the street where she had fallen.
“And what did you do that for?” Zatanna asked as she stood up from her previous position, noting the tranquilizer dart that stood out from the now unconscious mare's right side as she laid on the ground.
"To stop her,” Batman answered simply, putting the injector away as he shook his head. “She could have killed thousands of people if it were later in the day.”
“It’s not her fault, she just needs some training and control," The Mage told him, brushing herself off as she looked to him with a glare.
"And in the meantime every magic using villian and power seeker will be looking for her,” the Dark Knight added.
“That doesn’t give you the right to knock her out like that!” she responded, placing a hand on her hip as she looked towards the caped crusader with a scowl. “We can’t keep her asleep forever.”
“She is dangerous,” he returned, “Too dangerous to stay here.”
“She’s a scared child, untrained in the power she has. Would you keep Supergirl unconscious?” Zatanna asked, stomping a foot.
“If I had to, yes.”
Zatanna’s face went red.
“She has done nothing wrong! We can’t lock her up and keep her sedated.”
“And we cannot leave her,” he added on sternly. “She is a danger to this city. We keep her guarded until we can send her to Themyscira.”
Both Etrigan and Zatanna looked at each other, then at Batman.
“Themyscira? Heh, they have magical shields to obscure the island, they raise horses and pegasi, and they have experience with magic,” Etrigan said with a smirk. “Sure, let her be their problem. For once the Bat has a good idea.”
“What about her life here?” Zatanna asked, her scowl deepening as she looked between the two.
“She’s a stinkin’ horse, Zatanna. I could find a cart to tie her up to, maybe dangle a carrot in front of her,” Etrigan said flicking his hand to indicate the mare laying on the ground. “Otherwise, unless we can turn her human again, she will have no life here.”
“We’ll bring her to the Watchtower for now, until I can get Diana to take her to the island,” Batman said, turning away from the two as Etrigan looked at the damage to his house, which, unlike them, had withstood the full brunt of Klarien's last attack. The blast had to go somewhere, after all, and that somewhere was unfortunately his home.
"And… what about my house?” he asked.
“Send me the bill,” the Dark Knight responded, putting a finger to his ear piece. "Can I get an emergency transport at my location?”
“Bill you? I don’t know if local contractors take bat dollars… then again, this is Gotham so…” rubbing his chin, he watched as Zatanna, Batman, and the mare, suddenly disappeared as a result of the Watchtower's teleportation system.
“... 'Bill you'… Right, well, I always wanted a new pool, entertainment room, and such. Heh, 'bill you' I shall.”
***
Celestia felt lightheaded, dizzy even. Her mouth was dry and her neck was sore. Lying quietly, she flicked an ear. After a moment she flicked it again. Surprisingly, to her at least, she was managing to do so voluntarily.
‘Wow I can move my ear.’ Moving her ear around, she started listening to the world around her.
The hum of electronics and whir of fans seemed to be a common sound. There was the sound of people walking in the halls, conversations just at the edge of her hearing. Much closer though, there was an argument.
“Can we at least let her come around long enough for food and water?” Zatanna questioned sadly.
“Diana will be here soon. She can hold out till then,” Batman told her.
“And the guard?”
“He’s watching over her to make sure she doesn’t have any more accidents.”
“And I’m watching over her to make sure no one hurts her,” another voice suddenly came into the conversation.
Noting this, Celestia opened her eyes, seeing what looked like a medieval knight; a real life knight wearing armor and carrying a sword. A true to gosh knight.
Raising her head, the mare looked over the being, a smile of amazement appearing over her features.
"I’m being protected by a knight?” Celestia questioned and giggled, “So cool.”
“Sir Justin ma’lady. Though I am here to ensure you do not wander. It is dangerous here afterall,” he stated, to which she gave a slight nod.
“Oh, I thought you said you were making sure no one would hurt me,” she said, glancing around the area.
From what she could tell, she was currently in a sort of storage area; at least that would be her guess with all the boxes and crates around. Batman and Zatanna, in the meantime, stood at the door to the room. The Knight, Justin, was only a few feet from her.
Seeing her move, Batman drew an auto injector from his belt again.
“She seems to be adapting to the drugs, staying down for shorter and shorter times. I’ll have to change the dosage.”
Celestia blinked, and quickly shrank down to her smaller form in fear. Looking at Batman with sad eyes she whimpered.
“Please don’t, I’ll be good. I’ll behave,” she pleaded, backing herself away as much as she could in her small, tired form.
“I’m sorry, but right now it’s for your own good,” Batman answered, walking towards her with the injector in hand.
Before he could get any closer though, a large male pegasus came between him and her, spreading his wings as if to make a sort of wall.
"No, it is for what you believe to be your own good. I will not let her come to harm,” the stallion was pure white, with a red caparison and golden trim.
Taking a step back Batman raised an eyebrow.
“Victory, what has gotten into you?” Sir Justin stated more than asked in surprise of the pegasus’ reaction.
“He shall not pass,” the pegasus responded, stomping a foreleg and keeping his wings spread.
“Victory, behave yourself,” Sir Justin said firmly.
Tia couldn’t help but giggle, instantly noticing exactly what the being was saying, the form in which he did so, and even his apparent stance. “Lord of the Rings?” she asked.
Looking over his shoulder the pegasus chuckled. “Favorite movie.”
Batman looked between Tia and Victory, slowly noting the stallion’s body language.
Sir Justin turned to look at Tia, and though it could not be seen, a brow of his rose, “You can speak with him?”
“Yeah. He said he’s going to protect me, make sure no one hurts me,” she said nodding. Then the realization sank in of what and why he asked. Blinking, she tilted her head and looked towards the others, “Wait, you can’t understand him?"
Zatanna couldn’t help but smile at this, leaning against the doorframe.
“Well this is interesting.”
4: Late Knight Snacks
The ever-present hum of fans filled the air, a constant reminder that nothing here was natural. Not the lights — which held their own soft buzzing sound; not the breeze which came from the vents scattered along the edges of the floor and ceiling; not the flowers which gave off no scent; not even the gravity itself was real.
Life onboard a space station often meant sacrifices. Terms like real, fresh, privacy and sometimes even sleep, were considered luxuries. In an environment so hostile that the only thing standing between life and death was a single wall or glass windows, however, these luxuries were sacrificed willingly.
Routine and schedule were a necessity. Everything needed to be planned out, everything needed to be in its place, and everyone needed to do their jobs. From maintenance on the power generators, to constant monitoring of the water recycling system. Checks on air purification and circulation, as well as the replacment of filters, were always a priority task.
Distractions were rare, usually involving red lights and sirens. Alerts of some problem in the station itself, or in the space around it. Alerts of some emergency that could cost lives. Alerts to warn people to seek shelter in their quarters.
Narrowing his eyes, Batman looked over the cluster of technicians that had gathered at the door to the cargo bay. Some stood taking pictures with cell cameras, others whispered between each other, chuckling and chortling. The sound of whinnies and laughter came from the bay itself, though not particularly loudly. The sound was just loud enough to be drawing the attention of the staff it seemed.
Clearing his throat once, the techs and support staff, which had apparently not even taken notice of him yet, gave a short glance towards the Dark Knight. This, accompanied by a momentary narrowing of his eyes, was all he had needed to cause the crowd to scatter to, what he assumed would be, their rightful places.
“Now you’re getting it,” Victory whinnied as he pranced beside the little pony.
Looking up at the larger stallion, Tia smiled brightly as she trotted beside him, her front and hind legs moving in perfect timing as her mind and body got used to the motions. It had taken well over an hour or so to get to this point of mastery, but it seemed to be very well worth it in the end.
“I think I’m getting the hang of this,” Tia commented, a smile on her face.
Tossing his head back., Victory laughed. "I should hope so. Those 'are' your legs after all,” the pegasus returned, watching as Tia’s gaze slowly traveled to her sides, experimentally lifting a wing and stretching it out to poke Victory's side.
“What about these?” Tia asked as she slowly moved her wing spreading it and retracting it a few times.
“Those are called wings little one,” Victory responded cheerfully, before giving Tia a slight nuzzle onto her side.
Giggling Tia looked down and hopped a few times, be it out of excitement or the apparent endless amount of energy she felt.
“Duh, I know that," she told the pegasus with a laugh, "can I use them though?”
“Let’s worry about you getting to know to your hooves before we worry about your wings,” Victory suggested, looking around the cargo bay and, upon spotting the Dark Knight standing at the door, taking on a more serious stance as he moved his wing to shield Tia.
This gesture was not missed by a certain magician, whom had also held a clear view into the cargo bay.
“He’s taken a real liking to her,” Zatanna commented, glancing sideways to Batman. “They have been at it for over an hour now. She’s just so full of energy, I guess.”
Batman looked at Zatanna sternly and shook his head.
“Too much energy for her own good. She should be sitting and waiting quietly,” hearing this Zatanna blinked, raising a brow at Batman.
“Have you ever known a child to sit and wait quietly?” she asked plainly.
“I did,” the Dark Knight returned directly. The response left no question as to his belief that all children should behave like that.
With a soft grumble, Zatanna rolled her eyes at that whole concept.
Peeking her head out from under Victory’s wing, Tia saw Batman and, noting the flower he held, gave out a huff.
“I’m behaving, see? I’m no trouble or bother to anyone,” she told him.
Before Batman could truly respond, a voice suddenly came from his side.
“It was a great undertaking but I have managed to scavenge every carrot on the station. I have also found some celery sticks, a can of 'cheez whiz' — don’t tell the Flash — and the last of the carrot cake,” sir Justin could be heard calling out as he rounded the corner, shortly before spotting the Dark Knight. His eyes narrowed towards the knight. Sir Justin gulped before giving out a faint, forced chuckle.
“What are you doing?” the Dark Knight asked.
“I am simply taking proper care of the equines. Victory and the little one are getting along fine, so I am bringing them food and drink… umm… sir…” sir Justin grumbled, lowering his head from the gaze of the Batman.
“I could not let her go without eating, so I brought what Victory likes so she could try that.”
Looking out from under Victory’s wing, Tia stood, smiling brightly. Seeing the food, the filly's tail began wagging vigorously as she tilted her head. A loud grumbling sound from her tummy could be heard over the machinery, and even from where the three heroes that stood at the door, as she suddenly looked up wide eyed, a light tint of red washing over her cheeks as she took notice of how loud that apparently was.
Zatanna, who couldn't help but to give out a light chuckle at this, took the tray from Sir Justin and, without so much as glancing at Batman, walked over towards where Tia and Victory were. It wasn't until she was only a few feet away from the pair, one of the two now looking even more excitedly as she watched her come, that Zatanna set down the food she held with her on the ground.
“Okay, let’s get some food in you, eh?” the magician said to Tia with a slight coo, to lower Victory's still defensive stance, if only slightly.
Making her way past Victory before bounding to the tray, Tia sat herself down in front of it with a look of elation as she gazed at the food before her, licking her lips.
Reaching down with a hoof, she initially tried to 'pony-handle' a carrot. Using one foreleg, she rolled a carrot away from the rest, singling it out before she then tried to pinch it between both of forelegs in an effort to gain a sort of grip on it.
“Hon, what are you doing?” Zatanna asked, withholding a laugh and smiling at the filly.
“Trying to eat. It's harder than you think to hold these things,” Tia replied, gesturing to her hooves with a bob of her head before returning to her efforts of attempting to grab hold of a carrot.
Her tongue stuck out momentarily as she struggled even further, which proved to be the breaking point for Zatanna as, unable hold back her giggles, she rubbed the filly's back gently.
"Why not just lean down and bite it off the plate?” Zatanna asked, to which the filly momentarily puffed out her cheeks.
“I’m not an animal,” Tia said defensively, “I’m not going to be rude about things.”
With a soft wicker, Victory came to Tia's side before and leaned down and to give her a gentle nuzzle. In one quick motion he turned his head and bit a carrot himself for himself.
Eating it slowly, he once again raised his wing over kept the little filly, shielding her. Swallowing he let out a soft chuckle.
“Accepting your form does not make you an animal. We have very nimble tongues that we can use to move and manipulate food easier. Besides, how else are you going to eat that carrot cake?” blinking, Tia looked to and fro between Victory and the cake, a sigh escaping her as she gave in.
Proceeding to follow Victory's example, Tia all but buried her muzzle into the cake, making a notable mess of herself as she dug in.
It wasn’t the best way of doing things, but perhaps she was just too hungry to care. Quickly she devoured the cake in its entirety, leaving nothing more than a small section on the tray, now emptied, where the sweet had previously been. Having finished, Tia looked up towards Batman innocently, a small dollop of cream on the tip of her muzzle being all that remained as she licked off everything else that her little tongue could reach.
"Sorry about the mess,” she apologized.
Stepping back, Batman shook his head with a sigh before walking back into the hall. Looking down the corridor he made sure it was clear of staff.
Having easily noticed what the Dark Knight's actions had implied, Tia frowned, looked up towards Zatanna with a sad look upon her features.
“I said I was sorry!”
Unsure of what to really say on the Dark Knight's actions, Zatanna settled for giving Tia a quick hug, so as to tell her it was fine, before she stood and stormed into the hall, following the Dark Knight. It didn't take her long to find him, spotting him barely a few yards from the door.
“Ok, Bats, what is your problem?” she interrogated, crossing her arms as she looked to the caped crusader.
Looking back towards Zatanna Batman narrowed his eyes.
“Everyone around here is letting their guard down around her. We don’t know the extent of her power, and we don’t know if the attraction people are having to her is just because of her or some magical effect she’s putting out. The fact that Victory was ready to fight for her shows it could be more than just her being a child,” he explained, to which the magician rolled her eyes.
“OR it could be just that Victory sees her as a helpless foal and doesn’t want her hurt or abused. Victory could see YOU as the threat, not part of his herd or family, and as such wants to keep the foal safe from you. That's a very basic instincts Bats,” Zatanna informed the Dark Knight sternly, glaring fiercely as she put her hands on her hips.
“The little one's lost everything. Her life, her friends, her family — she needs support!"
“And she will get that, but someone around here has to keep a level head,” Batman responded, before looking to the door of the room. “All of the power of the sun as magical energy could be an immense corrupting influence.”
Turning, Zatanna pointed to Tia, who was sitting cross eyed, head tilted as she tried desperately to lick the last of the frosting off of her nose. The little filly was doing her best trying to get the offending white cream that was just out of the reach of her tongue. Even her ears were focused on the dollop, which had her complete and undivided attention.
Looking to Batman with raised brows as she pointed out this supposed 'threat' he had been rambling about, she easily took note of the fact that he didn't seem to pay her any attention.
“She has no idea the power she has, or how to control it. That makes her a threat. That’s why she can’t stay,” at that very moment, a new voice intervened. Specifically, one of the Amazonian heroine variety.
“Can’t stay where?” Wonder Woman asked as she walked up towards the pair, attracting both of their attention as they turned to face her.
“In Gotham or on the Watchtower,” Batman answered with a nod, before greeting the heroine.
“Hello Diana. Thank you for this; I think Themyscira is the best place for her now,” nodding towards the Dark Knight, Diana made her way past him and towards the door to the storage area of the Watchtower.
“All right, let’s see this so-called terror,” Diana said, putting her hands on her hips as she came, before looking into the cargo bay.
At the time, Tia had her front end crouched down, wings spread wide while her flank was high and her tail wiggling. She was facing Victory, whose tail was also flicking back and forth and wings spread wide, with his head lowered to the same height as hers. Fighting back giggles in a sing song voice Tia finished the little ditty Victory had just told her of.
“…and give a little shake!”
As this transpired, Diana turned her head slowly to look at Batman, a smirk on her face.
“I see... A true magical threat to the world indeed," noting her sarcasm, Batman spoke up once more.
“Just because she looks cute and innocent, doesn’t mean she is not powerful,” the Dark Knight assured as he watched the Amazonian make her way into the room.
Looking over her shoulder, and noting the approaching woman, Tia turned quickly, sitting herself down on the deck and tilting her head slightly with a smile.
“Hello, miss,” she greeted, seconds before Diana knelt down and gently stroked Tia behind an ear.
“Hello there, little sister. How would you like to come with me? I have some friends that may be able to teach you.”
“Can’t I stay here with Victory?” Tia asked, looking back towards the pegasus. “He’s been teaching me so much. I was hoping if I learned quick enough, I could go home.”
“Oh little one,” Diana spoke softly, and continuing to gently scratch behind Tia's ear, much to her delight, "there are many who will teach you where we are going. This is too small and confined a space for someone as young as you.” As she said this, the Dark Knight chimed in from outside of the room.
“Remember Diana, this is her small form. Her larger form or true form is far closer in size to Victory," Batman informed. “In this form though, she can hide or limit her magical output, so it’s far safer for her to stay like this.”
Noting the Dark Knight's words, Diana continued from where her speech had left off.
“Well, you won’t have to stay in your small form unless you want to on the island. Would you like to come down and see it?” she asked the filly with a smile. "Will you at least come see what we have to offer?”
Looking back towards Victory, whom only gave her a slight nod in response, Tia let out a slow breath.
"Can Zatanna come too?” she asked, lowering her ears and looking up towards Wonder Woman sadly.
“If she wishes, Zatanna can come visit with you. I’m sure you’ll find new friends there too. Maybe some of the pegasi on the island will be as friendly as Victory is here,” though she didn't particularly enjoy the implications behind that sentence, particularly the one stating that Victory and Zatanna wouldn't be there with her for long after all, Tia eventually surrendered.
“Okay… I guess… But can I say bye to Victory first?” Diana couldn't help but to chuckle at this.
“Yes, you may. We have time,” Diana answered, watching as Tia turned around, her size and form growing to full size once again, and her mane taking on the ethereal colors as she trotted up to Victory and bowed her head. This, of course, took Diana off guard.
“By Hera,” Diana muttered to herself, standing up as Zatanna slowly walked towards her side with a smile.
“I know, right?” Zatanna said with a momentary nudge, she and Diana watching Victory bowed his head in return and blew softly into Celestia’s muzzle once. Gently he stepped forward and placed his cheek against hers, nuzzling.
Celestia smiled and nuzzled back.
"I won’t forget you or your kindness, Victory,” she told him.
“You’ll always be my little foal. Now get going, you don’t want to keep them waiting,” nodding, Celestia returned her attention to Diana once more, concentrating for a moment as she shrank down to her previous smaller form, and then bounded up to Diana wiggling her tail slightly. “Ok, ready!”
It wasn't long afterwards before the group — that is to say, Tia, Batman, Zatanna, and Diana —were walking down the corridors of the Watchtower. As this went on, Diana watched the little foal with a warrior’s eye, taking note of every action and reaction. The Amazons have long rode horses and pegasi on their island, but Tia wasn’t either of those. Her small stature and squat body had her far more compact than most equines. Her legs were also thicker than a horse’s.
Diana was quick to note however, the filly’s actions and reactions were not those of a true threat. She looked at everything with wonder and excitement. She was every bit a child, her eyes wide as she looked at everything new around her. Her smile was true, as were her tail and ear positions. She wore her excitement on her entire body with pride.
Even as the four entered the Javelin bay, Tia continued to exemplify this fact, giving out a loud squee of excitement as she noted what she would apparently be using for transportation.
“Are we flying in THAT?” she asked, already seeming hyper from giddiness.
Laughing, Diana nodded.
“Yes, little sister, it’s how we are getting to the island. How did you think we would travel?” looking towards Wonder Woman, Tia blinked.
“Well, when I heard fly…” Tia trailed off, looking back to her wings before spreading one ever so slightly.
Zatanna couldn’t help but giggle at Tia’s expression, leaning down gently rub her between her ears.
Blinking, Diana put her hands on her hips and smiled.
“Don’t worry little one, we will get you in the air soon enough. But for now, let’s get you strapped in, so you can enjoy the trip."
Nodding towards the Amazon, Tia watched as one of the ships seemed to respond to the presence of the four, mechanizations of all sorts resounding from it as a hatch opened, lowering a ramp just before the group so as to allow them to board. Bounding up the ramp happily, and entering the ship, Tia looked around before eventually choosing a window seat up front. From here she could see out the left side of the ship, and even out the front somewhat if she stretched her neck up a bit. She was still short in her current form, so her viewing options were limited.
Zatanna took a seat in the co-pilots chair, strapping herself in as she watched Diana work with the foal.
It only took Diana a few moments to have the little filly safely bound by the seat belts. Once this was done, Diana took her own seat, strapping herself into the pilot's seat and closed the rear ramp door using the remote. Keying the mic, she turned several switches as she called out, “Javelin five ready for drop.”
“Drop?” Tia squeaked, her mind only momentarily being able to process Diana's choice of words before bottom fell out of her world, or at least the station, herself giving out a surprised scream as a result.
The bottom doors on the bay had opened and electromagnets had given the Javelin a push so it fell towards Earth.
The Javelin accelerated straight down in a negative G drop, pulling Tia up out of her seat a little, and threatening to lift her off entirely, were it not for the straps that held her in place. Within seconds, the thrusters on the nose and tail shifted the plane so it was in nose down orientation, the g-forces now instead pushing Tia back into her chair as she caught a glimpse of the Earth for a moment.
Calmly Diana adjusted her course, the entire jet starting to vibrate as it hit the upper atmosphere, the advanced shielding on its nose and underbelly absorbing and dissipating the heat of reentry.
Looking over her shoulder, Diana saw Tia whose fur had actually turned green around her face and neck. A rather unnatural color for a rather unnatural pony.
“Are you okay?” She asked calmly, though a part of her guessed as to what was to come next.
“I don’t feel so…” leaning to her side, Tia found herself getting a second look at the cake she had just eaten earlier as the contents of her stomach decided that the floor of the jet would be an acceptable place to move to. Lying limply in the straps of her seat as she recovered from the incident, Tia whimpered, finishing her sentence “... well.”
***
Torches and candles flared to life around the room. The dark shelves covered in dust and cobwebs seldom saw much use as they had been read many times in the past. Skulls of animals as well as humans decorated the room, acting as a stark reminder to the dark magic present.
The candles flickered, giving off a dark green light with purple smoke rising from them as they illuminated the most prominent feature in the room: a mirror.
A large oval shape with an almost Celtic pattern of intertwining raised golden strips to it , the mirror hung on the stone wall above a semicircle of dark candles.
Faust walked up to the mirror with an uncharacteristic half smile on his face. Lifting a hand, mists formed and joined with the smoke around the mirror into a swirling vortex. Within moments the form of a dark haired man appeared in the mirror. Lowering his hand, Faust held up his prize.
“So you’ve found it. And this should interest me why?” the man asked coldly.
Faust’s smile widened.
"Why, with it I can rebuild a new key!" He returned.
“And open the door?” the man in the mirror inquired, a huff escaping him as he quickly realized what this would entail. “Very well. What do you wish for in turn?”
“From you? Nothing. I Know better than to trust you,” Faust stated calmly almost as pointing a fact.
“The terror you will bring can serve my needs more than well enough."
“I see, then why do you even bother contacting me?” the man then asked, sitting back down in his chair.
Faust smiled. "Because, to make this work, I will need a distraction; I will need some way of drawing the Amazon's attention away from the gate.”
“And you expect me, to somehow arrange that?” The man questioned as he steepled his fingers, looking towards Faust.
“Well, I’m sure you still have some contacts. Maybe one of your family members?” Faust suggested with a smirk, letting the thought simmer.
“If not, I understand. I am in no rush,” watching as the figure seemed to think for a moment, humming lightly, Faust couldn't help but to give out a light chuckle as the man snapped his fingers.
“Eris does owe me a few favors. She should be able to provide a nice distraction,” the man said, chuckling darkly.
“Then it is settled, I will contact you when I am ready.”
“This should be more than amusing,” the man commented, snapping his fingers once again as the smoke around the mirror exploded into flames before vanishing, leaving the sickly smell of sulfur and brimstone. A moment later the mirror simply reflected Faust's grinning face.
“Amusing, yes, but I will get what I want,” Faust stated confidently as he turned, heading to his lab.
“This time.”
***
Diana flicked the switch to drop the rear ramp, the ship responding with the hissing sound of the pressure equalizing between the ship's atmosphere and the new sea level pressure. Next came the sound of the hydraulics coming to life, lowering the tons of metal to the ground.
Once this was done, Diana unstrapped herself from her seat and made her way over towards the filly, still strapped in and still rather weary looking, avoiding the mess she had left on the floor with care.
Using a cloth to wipe off Tia’s mouth and foreleg, Diana smiled.
“It’s okay, little sister. Even great warriors can become ill at times.”
Nodding slowly, Tia snuggled into Diana as the Amazon picked up the filly with little effort.
"I’m sorry,” the filly apologized weakly as she moved herself further into the Amazon's embrace.
Walking down the ramp, Diana smiled, looking at the several Amazons who had come to meet her. They stood waiting with spears and shields, yet still their faces bore smiles. Diana looked down at Tia and gave her a little squeeze, alongside a reassuring nod, before putting her down on the ground just before the lowered ramp of the ship.
Three women were waiting, one of which having been stroking the muzzle of a white pegasus with white mane and tail. All three were also noticeably very tall.
“Diana, welcome back. Is this the little one?” a woman asked, her long red hair in one massive ponytail that almost touched the ground.
Nodding, Diana then glanced towards the filly, turning as she began to introduce the three to her. “Tia, this is my mother Hippolyta; our queen. This is Artemis; she is our weapons master. Finally, there's Philippus; she is a great warrior and general.”
Bowing deeply, so much so that she touching her horn to the ground, Tia’s tail gave away her excitement before she rose herself up once more and gave a broad smile. “A real queen? Wow. That means you’re a real princess, right miss?”
“That’s right,” Diana returned proudly.
“What’s it like to be a princess? I wonder if I could be a princess someday….” Tia asked and wondered, looking up towards Diana.
Stepping down the ramp as this went on, Zatanna similarly bowed before the queen.
“Your Majesty,” she greeted.
Diana knelt down and gently poked Tia’s nose.
“I don’t know, I can’t say. First things first though, let’s show you to your room,” nodding, Tia glanced up towards the pegasus that accompanied the three other women, waving a forehoof.
“Hi, I’m Tia!” looking down the pegasus tilted her head and let out a giggling nicker.
“Pleased to meet you Tia, I’m Dasher.” Spreading her wings and crouching she struck a more 'action ready' pose. “But if you like, you may just call me Dash.”
5: School Days and Early Knights
Themyscira’s fields stretched across the lands for acres in all directions. The rolling plains were filled with swaying grass, all of which brought up by the in the light Mediterranean breeze. Flowers held a near constant bloom, their fragrant scents mixing with the slightly salty sea air. A few trees dotted the altogether surprisingly flat area, casting shadows, providing protection for the few that remained among the lands from the sun.
“Lift those hooves higher!”
A few structures could be seen here and there, made from an old Greek marble, some having fallen to ruin over the centuries, others seeming like they were just built recently. A small round temple sat on top of a hill, a simple tholos design, with a ring of steps, sixteen pillars holding up a roof, and an inner round room for the statue and offerings. It was a common place for some of the Amazons to sit and rest, read, or in this case, watch.
“You are a monster!” Tia cried out as she gasped for air.
While normally males were not allowed on the island, there was one who had been there for centuries. He spent most of his time reading these days, but every so often reveled in the chance to train someone new. He took pride in it.
“Power comes from your hind legs; your front legs are for steering! I want to hear those hooves pound like thunder!”
Tia panted hard as she ran, perspiration soaking her sides and back, clotting parts of her fur, as she crossed the fields. A single thought ran through her head, alongside the consistent sound of her consciousness reminding her to breathe.
‘This is worse than gym class! This is worse than those President’s Fitness Challenges!’
Pounding his staff on the ground a few times, it's shod ends casting sparks as it impacted with a rock, it proved more than enough to get the filly's attention. Turning she trotted back, slowing as she approached the instructor. Though, her heavy breaths kept her from truly saying or doing anything else.
“The more you run the stronger your legs will get and the more confident you will be,” swaying his tail, the instructor crossed his arms and stomped a foreleg.
“We'll get you something to drink, then we can pick it up again,” at this Tia gulped, her throat dry from her heavily put upon exercises as she attempted to give out air in more than just a pant.
“Why do I have to run like that?” Tia asked, tiredly looking up towards her centaur instructor.
“Magic is more than just words or energy, little one,” the centaur responded before slowly walking around the little pony, his hooves crushing the short grass below him with a series of stamps and rustles.
“It requires focus and discipline. It requires a unity of body, mind, and soul,” walking in a circle around Tia, the centaur smiled, though he did well to hide it from his student, before he continued. “Now go, get something to eat and drink.”
“Yes sir,” Tia breathed out with a sigh, managing a thankful smile of her own before making her way towards the ruins of the Greek structure nearby.
Lying upon its steps, a pegasus gave out a hearty laugh.
“Wow, you look wasted,” she said, chuckling.
“I am,” Tia responded, shaking herself in an effort to get off some of the sweat that riddled her body. Oddly, it felt as though it wasn't even close to enough.
“He is such a slave driver. So wanna join me for lunch, Dash?” Tia inquired, to which the pegasus responded with another laugh as she bounded towards her.
“Oh sure, definitely. Free food other than grass and hay is always a yes,” rolling her eyes at the pegasus' response, Tia looked over her shoulder, watching as the centaur trotted out of sight, likely returning to his cabin.
“Why is he here by the way? I thought this island was females only,” she asked.
“Well, female humans. There are still male pegasus here, after all, and a male dragon,” Dash responded, her face suddenly taking a downtrodden appearance.
“But, in reality, he’s been here for a long time. He simply has nowhere else to go.”
“That’s… so sad.” Tia whimpered, glancing back towards the direction the centaur had left before returning her gaze towards Dash.
“What happened?” Dash shrugged.
“The world changed. There was simply no room for those that were not… human,” as she spoke, she shook her head, her tail giving a light flick.
“He has given the world so much; it was only fitting to give him a safe place to rest. Chiron trained so many of the great heroes. Achilles, Hercules, Perseus, and all of the other great heroes of the past,” hearing this, Tia couldn't help but blink, her eyes moving downwards towards her hooves.
“Is... that what will happen to me? I’ll be forced to live here, or someplace else?” Tia inquired, concern and sadness clear in her voice.
“Oh heck no. If you have a friend as totally awesome as me, you will be able to go everywhere,” Dash assured, turning her gaze back to the filly in an effort to see if she had cheered up... only to see she was looking at the table up ahead of them, drool starting to form on her lips. Following her gaze, the pegasus saw that there was a small meal laid out — well, not that small really, being more akin to a small feast — and rolled her eyes. Also seated by this table was Princess Diana, who had been occupying herself by shining her sword. Upon hearing the sound of hooves, however, she looked upwards, a smile appearing on her face as she gave a small wave towards the approaching equines.
“Is that apple cider?” Tia asked as she approached the table, rearing up and putting her forelegs on one of the stone benches beside it.
Dash nodded slowly, letting her tongue hang out a little as she gazed. “They never let us have this stuff.”
Looking around, Tia waved a foreleg, staying propped up with the other leg.
“Princess Diana, can I ask you something?” Diana gave out a nod.
“Yes little sister?” she answered questioningly, reaching over and grabbing a stray apple from the table.
Climbing up, and rearranging herself to feel as comfortable as she possibly could have, Tia sat on the bench and motioned to the food.
“Why are the pegasus not allowed to have cider or real food?” she asked Diana gave her another curt nod.
“Mother says it's not good for them. Though, I do try and sneak them apples when I can,” Diana answered with a wink, offering Dash the apple she held, watching with a chuckle as the pegasus slowly took it from her hand before eating the thing whole within the next few seconds.
“Does that mean it's not good for me as well?” Tia questioned, looking at the food with a frown, her ears splaying back against her head. “Will I be limited to grass and hay too?”
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Diana said, a curious hum escaping her. “Mother may have some ideas on how to find out though. We can talk with her after lunch.” Giving Diana a nod, Tia looked to the pitcher of apple cider with confidence before turning her head sideways, Tia picked up a pitcher of apple cider with her mouth and poured it into an empty bowl on the table, before nosing it gently to Dash.
“There you go.”
Dash’s eyes lit up as she swallowed whatever was left of the apple she had eaten at once, seeing the special treat being offered to her. Unable to resist she leaned down in what was practically a spasm, sticking her muzzle right into the bowl, and causing a slight splash, as she downed the drink. Her own tail betrayed her excitement at the gift.
Tia giggled at this, but swiftly turned back to Diana.
“Have yourself something quick, then we can go see the queen for her wisdom,” Diana advised the filly in a soft voice, giving Tia a gentle scratch between her wings.
Nodding, Tia quickly dumped part of a salad bowl onto her plate with the fetlocks of her forehooves. It wasn’t the neatest way of doing things, but hooves could only manage so much. She finished her meal off with some fresh pressed apple juice, which Diana thankfully had helped pour to keep the filly from struggling anymore, before bounding over to the fountain to wash her muzzle.
“You are aware, that normally you also wash before you eat?” Diana mused with a raised brow and a smile as she looked at the filly.
“I know, this is going to sound stupid but… if I wash my hooves before I eat, even if I clean them as best I can, they end up picking up more dust and dirt when I walk back. If I tap them a few times before though, they seem clean enough to work with. As long as I don’t touch the food,” Tia waggled her tail a bit before looking up too Diana.
“I know it’s wrong but-”
“I guess I have to remember you walk on all fours,” Diana interrupted with a smile.
“Well, it would probably be easier if I could get taught how to fly…” Tia cast sideways glance towards Dash, whom had just licked whatever remnants of cider remained on her muzzle.
“Pegasus will be handling that,” she said with a belch, a giddy smile of satisfaction on her face.
“Which pegasus? Not you?”
“No, Pegasus, not pegasus.” Dash said trying to keep a straight face.
Tia blinked, not initially understanding. However, a few moments later, her eyes widened, her mouth forming a small 'O' as she suddenly realized just whom Dash was referring to.
“Come on Tia, let’s go see my mother,” Diana said, putting her hand on Tia’s back.
It wasn't long after that the three arrived at the palace in which the island's queen, Diana's mother, resided.
The palace was constructed of the same marble and quarried white stone as the other buildings. Greco columns supported a decorated roof. The walkway up to the front door was decorated with both statues of gods and humans, alongside small trees, in an alternating pattern. The inside, however, was opulent with silk pillows and cushions. Low benches and tables were set for feasts or simple dinners. Iron braziers burned a mix of coal and incense, giving off not just light, but fragrant scents.
A red carpet lead up to a set of steps and a raised dais, where the Queen sat on her throne. An amazon with black hair stood beside her, taking notes on a scroll as the queen talked with her advisers. At the foot of the steps stood two guards. Clad in armor and with swords and shields at hand, their purpose was more of honor then actual need. A show of status to serve the queen.
“Mother?” Diana called, walking up and lowering her head in respect.
Waving her hand gently, Queen Hippolyta dismissed the others who were present in the court. The scribe and guards proudly nodded once before they turned and headed into an antechamber, closing the doors behind them to ensure the queen's unspoken wish for privacy was kept.
Looking down, the Queen smiled gently towards her daughter.
“Yes, princess?”
Tia, whom was standing next to Diana, did her best to stand at attention, but found her tail wanting to wiggle on its own. Looking around from her position in awe, she noted all the interesting parts of the throne room; how everything seemed set up to draw attention to the Queen.
“Mother, we know very little about Tia’s dietary needs right now. We have been feeding her a mix of human and equine food, but this could be a danger to her. You have taught me in the past that some food is not good for the pegasi or horses of the island, did you not?”
Looking down at her daughter, then towards the filly next to her, who was still too busy scanning the room to notice, the Queen nodded once.
“I have considered that myself. We will need to consult an expert,” at this, Diana looked up curiously.
“But she is something new. A human turned into something not quite horse, not human, yet not centaur. Who would be an expert?”
With a soft smile, the Queen stood from her throne walking down the steps before kneeling in front the foal. Suddenly catching Tia’s attention, the foal jumped at the sudden proximity between her and the queen, settling as the queen began scratching Tia’s cheek. Instantaneously relaxing, the foal looked up wide eyed.
“She is still equine. She carries the magic of the sun in her, yes; she was human yes; but she is also equine. Take her to the temple of Epona. Ask for help there.”
***
The fires burned brightly in the background, the roar of the flames almost drowning out the screams of pain, suffering and terror. Almost. The rock was dark and cracked from the heat, and spires of flames rose from lava fields far below.
Walking along the path, steel boots sparked with each step against the rock. With each step taken, a pulse of light was highlighted by the dark cloak that dragged on the ground, a mix of leathers, furs, and armor hardly slowing the strides at all.
“Well, dear brother,” a voice seemed to come from all around, filling the air with an almost playful tone, “what brings you to my realm?”
Chuckling softly, the man spread his arms wide.
“Hello Discordia! It’s always a pleasure to see you,” the man said with a grin, knowing just which buttons to push to get a response.
“My name is Eris!” the voice suddenly yelled as it took shape, appearing in a puff of smoke to reveal a female form.
“Eris! Not Discordia, Eris!” her raven black wings flared as she looked on in anger, her similarly black hair blowing as though some unseen breeze passed through it, her eyes flashing with a deep orange and yellow light.
“And as always that gets your attention,” the man said with dark laughter.
“Are you just here to taunt and annoy me?” Eris questioned with stern annoyance, rolling her eyes.
Shaking his head, the man smiled.
“Oh no, I have a request for you.” Eris blinked.
“A... request? For me? This is new,” her lips pursing, Eris turned, snapping her fingers as an opulent couch appeared out of thin air. Turning she laid down on her side upon it looking at the man.
“Well? What do you need?” she asked, rolling her wrist so as to gesture for him to get it over with.
“Chaos, insanity, trouble. The usual one would ask of you really. I need you to cause problems, and draw attention,” the man responded, to which Eris rose a brow with interest.
“Oh? And what do I get out of this?” Eris asked.
Leaning down so he was face to face with his sister, the man smiled.
“Fun. Pure and simple fun. Some time on the surface to play with humanity,” this time, it was Eris' turn to smile, clapping her hands.
“Oh dear brother, you know me too well. When do I start? It’s been so long since I’ve gotten to play with mortals,” zhe said with a giggle, rolling in her couch slightly from giddiness.
“Soon little sister, I will have a door opened for you,” standing, the man flipped his cloak and began walking off. A chuckle escaping her, Eris watched as he left, lazily waving a hand of hers in the process.
“Take care Aries. You know how Zeus feels about us causing problems,” Eris said with an evil smile.
“Zeus will have other things to fear soon."
***
The shrine construction was called an anta, one of the smallest of temples. It was little more than a small building with two pillars in front of a single wooden door leading to the statue. The building wasn’t much larger than a double long garden shed.
The outside trim of the roof was decorated with pictures of horses, pegasi, mules, even a zebra. Three steps lead up to the platform the anta sat on. The door itself was well crafted, but fairly plain in comparison to other temples seen.
“This is Epona’s home?” Tia asked, looking up towards Diana with a raised brow.
Smiling softly Diana shook her head.
“No, little sister, this is simply her temple.” Tia blinked.
“Temple? How come it’s so small?” Looking around, Tia poked one of the reliefs of a horse with her muzzle.
“It’s...” looking at the shrine Diana let out a slow sigh and shook her head.
“It’s complicated,” walking inside with a breath, Diana bowed her head to the statue of a woman. Turning she lit several small incense rods, as well as a series of thick candles.
“Can I help?” Tia askedas she watched Diana go about her processes.
Smiling, Diana nodded, kneeling down and holding out a small basket of fruits and grains to Tia’s muzzle.
“Sure. If you can place these in the bowl over there, it would help a lot.” Nodding confidently, Tia bit the top of the basket so as to get a grip upon it, moving away a few steps, towards an empty bowl, before rearing up on her hind legs. Wobbling a bit as she worked, she poured the contents into the bowl as best she could before then putting down the basket down, nosing some of the grains that missed the bowl into a pile.
Backing away she sat looking up at Diana.
“How’s that?”
“Perfect,” Diana responded, leaning over slightly and starting to stroke Tia’s mane.
“So who’s Epona then?” Tia asked, looking up at the statue.
Carefully Diana picked up Tia, holding her against her chest as she looked towards the statue.
“She is the goddess of equines. That means horses, pegasi, zebras, and ponies. She is honored by those who work with horses.”
“Don’t the Amazons work with horses and pegasi?”
“Exactly. And, before you ask why her temple is so small if we hold them in such honor,” Diana preempted, “the reason is because Pegasus lives here too.”
“But you said she’s the goddess of pegasi,” Tia reiterated, her nose scrunching up as she looked around confused.
“That’s because Pegasus is the name of Poseidon’s son. While the winged horses in general are called pegasus or pegasi, Pegasus is someone special,” a new voice suddenly intruded, causing Tia to jump slightly in Diana's arms.
Blinking, Tia looked up towards the source of the voice in awe, specifically towards the woman that had suddenly appeared, now leaning against the wall before them. Looking between her and the statue, Tia couldn’t help but smile.
“You’re her, right? Epona?”
Kneeling down, the goddess looked between Tia and Diana, her brows furrowing as she touched the foal.
“Hm... Even in this form I can sense her potential power.”
Diana bowed her head to the goddess, hugging Tia a little tighter in the process.
“Yes ma’am. We are doing our best to teach her.” Nodding at Diana, Epona gave out a hum.
“May I see her?” Epona asked softly, holding her hands out.
Tia, still in Diana's arms, looked back and forth between Diana and Epona, unsure of her place. In the small confines of the temple she didn’t know what to say or do. This was a goddess after all. It was the goddess of horses though. Looking up at Diana she gave a short nod.
“I guess.”
Gently Diana sat the foal in front of the goddess, giving her a final comforting pat before backing up a step.
“It’s okay, Tia, I won’t leave,” Diana assured, to which Tia gave a slight nod.
“Me neither,” another, more familiar voice then added in, Tia watching as Dash suddenly stuck her head into the shrine, though she wasn’t able to fit through the door herself.
“Nothing’s gonna hurt you here.”
Looking first to Dash, Epona smiled.
“A loyal guardian and protector I see.” Dash gave out a smile of her own at this.
“Just call me Loyal Dasher, fastest pegasus on the island, and best friend,” Dash said, attempting to strike one of her poses, which, since at best her head and neck were in view, was somewhat lost on the others.
Kneeling down Epona shook her head and carefully started to examine Tia, whom attempted to be as still as possible. She looked her over almost in the fashion of a doctor or vet, her hands moving across the small foal as she checked her horn, wings, mouth, teeth, legs and hooves. Her face shifted to a motherly smile at the end, before she gave Tia’s sides a tickle.
Tia squirmed a little,letting out a soft giggle, Epona chuckling slightly at this before Tia looked up and asked jokingly, “Well doc? Give it to me straight? Will I ever be able to play the piano?”
Diana blinked, looking down at the foal in slight confusion. “I’m sorry little sister, I don’t think hooves will work for that. Were you good at playing the piano?”
Tia looked between the two and smiled brightly, wiggling her tail and holding back a giggle at the two's apparent missing of her joke. “I never actually tried. I was just wondering if the change might have given me super magical pony piano playing powers.”
Shaking her head Epona covered her face with a hand and groaned.
“She is healthy and stable. She can choose to maintain this form as long as she wants. Her true form shouldn’t tax her either, and in fact should take some pressure off her having to concentrate to stay small.”
“What about food?” Diana asked. “What’s safe for her to eat?”
“Her digestive systems are more efficient in some ways. It’s not set up for meats, but she should be fine for any fruits, berries, nuts, roots, tubers and such. Cooked, uncooked, high or low sugar, she should be able to deal with it. Though too much sugar might have her putting on some pounds,” Epona added on firmly.
“Yeah, so watch the cake and share some with me,” Dash said with a firm nod. “You don’t want your butt getting so big you can’t make it through doorways.”
Tia looked towards Dash before sticking her tongue out.
“So what does that mean diet wise?” Diana questioned, smiling the antics of the two horses.
Epona laughed at the little filly before looking at Diana.
“Mix of fiber, oats and vegetables, cooked or uncooked should do her fine. Chocolate, milk, and eggs won’t hurt her, just stay off meats,” she advised, to which Diana gave a slight bow.
“Thank you ma’am,” Diana responded, before looking at Tia.
“Now we know what’s safe for you to eat.”
“Yep, anything that wasn’t walking or swimming,” Tia said with a firm nod.
“Great, now we can get you at flight training!” Dasher chimed in with a whickering laugh.
“You really want to look after her don’t you?” Epona questioned, smiling at Dash.
Dash nodded proudly. “She’s like my baby sister at this point.”
Nodding, Epona proceeded to make her way over to Dasher, whose head was still through the window, gently touching her nose.
“This should help then.”
A glow slowly formed on Dash’s nose where Epona's touch had made contact. Pulling her head back quickly, the glow followed slowly growing covering more and more of her. Whinnying once, Dash shook her head as her form slowly shrank down to the same size as Tia’s, her head slowly lowering out of the window's sight. However, when the shrinking process did ultimately stop, one noted that she wasn't quite the same size as Tia.
Looking down at herself, and giving out a sputter, Dash made her way into the room for all to see, now able to fit through the door.
“Wow, Dash. Even like this you're taller than me.” Tia giggled.
“That’s because she’s, by human standards, a teenager, whereas you’re still a foal. Oh, and don’t worry Dasher. If needed, you can retake your full sized form at will.” Epona said with a smile.
Blinking, Dash glanced down towards herself again before taking a few test runs in circles of her new form. “Oh this is just too cool for school.”
6: On a Knights Wings
The Mediterranean sun was high in the sky, warming the waters, and painting the beautiful cloud banks that stretched across the horizon, dotting the heavens with colors of grey, white, and even pink. The play among the sun, sea, and sky generated thermals that gave birth to the fluffy cumulus clouds.
It was the playground of seagulls, sea eagles, and pelicans. They chased and soared in thermals, high into the sky. The calls of the sea birds could be heard for miles. For those who had the time to relax and watch the sky, it was kaleidoscope, unmatched in its grandeur. For those who could see beyond the mundane however . . .
Pegasus burst through the clouds, whinnying, his massive wings spread wide as he leveled off and looked down. Behind him, Tia was flapping as hard as she could, trying to keep up. Panting with each wing beat, she chased the large stallion as he turned and started circling.
“75% of your power comes in the down beat; try to get your wings as straight down as possible. Touch your tips together if you can,” Pegasus said, looking at the foal.
“I can’t curl my feathers enough; my wings are too short,” Tia responded meekly as she landed on a cloud, trying to catch her breath.
“Dash doesn’t seem to have a problem flying with short wings,” Pegasus said, and laughed. “It’s about control, about shaping your wings properly with each stroke.”
“I still don’t know how Dash can be so fast and agile, even with the short wings,” Tia said, looking at one of her wings as she stretched it out.
Slowly flapping, the great stallion laughed. “Think about this: everyone says a bumblebee should not be able to fly. Yet it has no problems doing so. Maybe it simply doesn’t realize it's not supposed to be able to fly, and does anyway.”
“Well, I’m not a bumblebee,” Tia said, folding her wings against her side with a sigh.
Shaking his head, Pegasus chuckled. “And winged horses are not supposed to be able to take breaks on clouds. In not knowing any better, you learned something.”
Blinking, Tia looked down at the cloud and bounced a few times. “It feels solid. Last one I hit felt pretty solid, too; I thought all winged horses could do that.”
Poking Tia with his muzzle once, he shook his head. “Nope, just you . . . and, apparently, Dash.” The stallion looked down and shook his head.
Below the two, Dash was sound asleep, drifting by on a cloud as she snored away. She had rolled up part of the cloud to act as a pillow and had formed a blanket of cloud that she pulled over herself.
Leaping down, Tia landed on the cloud beside Dash and gave her a shake. “Wake up! There is no way you can sleep if I can’t.”
“Watch me,” Dash said and giggled, rolling over a bit.
“Oh, some protector and guardian you are,” Tia said. She punctuated her observation with a "humpf" and stuck her muzzle in the air.
“Bah, don’t be such a princess.” Dash said, “Like you’re in any danger up . . .”
Stopping in mid-sentence, Dash started looking around, her ears twitching. A moment later Tia’s ears heard the strange sound as well. It sounded like an engine, not a jet but something like out of the old war movies. It was strange though; one moment it sounded like it was at full power, the next like it was idling.
Pegasus looked down at the girls sternly. “Don’t you dare.”
Both girls looked at each other, then nodded once. Both girls quickly dove down below the cloud cover, chasing down the strange sound that was invading their airspace and their lessons.
“Kids.” Pegasus shook his head as if that one word explained the source of all the trouble in the world. Arching his back, he dove down after the two ponies doing a barrel roll, checking his descent while allowing him to keep up his air speed.
Dash was the first to spot the trail, a dark black line meandered across the sky. There seemed to be no true course to it as it changed direction randomly. It was however, enough to lead the girls to the source of the noise, a Yak-52 single-engine propeller aircraft. Such planes were often used as trainers, stunt planes, and pleasure aircraft.
The plane, while looking mostly clean and well-kept, was leaking oil on the starboard side. A dirty black pinstripe stretched from the starboard exhaust port, over the wing root, and past the rudder. The control surfaces seemed to have minds of their own, twitching this way and that, with no apparent pattern as the plane wove drunkenly through the air. The engine roared to full power again, then to idle, then back up again. The pair could clearly see the pilot through the canopy.
"Pilot" was a misnomer. Either the person operating the plane either had no idea what he was doing, or something far worse was going on. He was laughing and rocking side to side, grabbing switches and levers seemingly at random and flicking them up and down and left and right. Suddenly, there was a loud bang from the engine, and the plane started to trail black smoke from the starboard exhaust port. This, however only seemed to amuse the pilot even more.
“Is he supposed to be like that?” Dash asked as she flew closer on the port side to look at the human.
Shaking her head, Tia moved up beside Dash on the starboard side. “No, he’s not.”
A moment later there was another loud bang. The sound was quickly followed by flames pouring out from around the port side exhaust port. The flames followed the air flow down the length of the fuselage, with the pressure differential drawing them over the wing root.
“Now don’t know much about human flying machines, but I know that doesn’t look good.” Dash had yell to be heard over the roar of the engine. Finding her position on the port side too hot to handle, she quickly did half a barrel roll followed by half a snap roll, putting Tia between the plane and herself.
Tia darted to the canopy. “We need to get him out of there.”
“Tia, you know the rules. We're not supposed to deal with humans that aren’t on the island.” Dash shook her head as she watched the foal banging and kicking at the canopy, trying to break the shatterproof acrylic.
“Break! Come on! Break!” Tia cried out, her hooves simply bouncing off the canopy.
Dash shook her head and gave the window a buck, too. “It's not going to work; we’re too weak like this.”
Closing her eyes, Tia’s horn glowed bright for a moment, the pale magenta aura coating the length of her horn. Gasping once, Tia opened her eyes, which they shone with a white light of their own. The magenta aura flowed over her entire body as her form grew to full size. Her wings slowly extended to their full length; her horn grew; her mane and tail shifted from a foalish pink to their true rainbow-colored ethereal form.
Dash’s form changed as well, her body growing into the full-sized pegasus form again. With one kick from her powerful leg she was able to dislodge the back panel of the canopy. Hooking a hoof on the canopy release lever, she gave a full-powered flap and ripped the entire back half of the canopy off with one move.
Dash dumped the canopy and darted back to the plane, flying inverted above the pilot while Tia maintained station on the starboard side. She looked down at the pilot. He was strapped in the seat with headphones on, but he had both his hands in the air, laughing. He screamed unintelligibly as the plane began a shallow dive. The straps held him in the plane, but he made no move to undo them. Apparently, to him, this was just fun. He seemed to have lost all sense of self-preservation.
“What are you waiting for?” Dash cried out over the coughing and sputtering of the dying engine.
“He’s buckled in,” Tia called back, trying to figure out what to do next.
Dash shook her head. “Well do something, or he's dead. I can’t buck or bite though those straps without killing him.”
Looking around, Celestia was stumped. The straps looked complicated, and the cockpit was too small for her to reach a hoof in. There was nothing she could do, unless . . .
Shaking her head, she focused her magic on the straps. As she concentrated, her horn started to glow with a magenta aura. The straps then started to glow in response. She could actually feel the straps with her magic. Their texture, their flexibility, their strength, everything about them started to make sense. She followed them around to where they ended at the buckle. With a pulse of magic, she actuated the quick-release, freeing the pilot. He glowed in the magenta aura as she levitated him away from the dying aircraft.
“That . . .is . . . AWESOME!” Dash said, and she laughed. “How are you doing that?”
“I have no idea, and I don’t know how long I can hold him,” Celestia said, looking confused. "Where should I put him?"
Pegasus swooped down between the girls. “You can NOT bring him to the island. It’s against the rules, but there is a human settlement this way.”
Looking over her shoulder Tia saw the small plane spiraling down into the water. “Dash, can you get Diana? I think the princess should see this. Something isn’t right.”
Nodding once Dash shot off towards Themyscira. Tia and Pegasus winced as they were buffeted by the shock wave from the sonic boom Dash created as she broke the sound barrier.
***
Walking down the hallway, Klarion stroked his cat's back. The smile on his face that would strike fear into any sane being. Step by step, he deliberately paced down the dark obsidian floor. As he moved, torches sprang to life on either side of him, barely pushing back the darkness of the hallway.
The onyx walls glimmered and sparkled with seas of dark blue and slashes of deep red lines. Carved reliefs of constellations and starscapes flowed across the ceiling. Ahead, Klarion could see the hall open up into the massive throne room.
Smiling softly, he looked down at the cat. With eerie gentleness, he said, “This should be fun.”
Looking up, the cat simply meowed once in response.
“I will be careful,” Klarion said as he walked in. He froze, looking at the nearly naked woman sitting on the throne. “Wow.”
“Meow mew meow,” was all the cat said as she shook her head.
“What brings you to my realm?” the woman asked, steepling her fingers.
“A new force has appeared on the world of humans. She is a child of the light.” Klarion smiled. “I had hoped to turn her to chaos.”
“But, you failed miserably,” the lady said with almost a laugh in her voice.
“I did NOT fail, milady; I didn’t get a chance,” Klarion said, defiantly and defensively.
“My guess is, you got carried away, thought you could bring the chaos, and found yourself outmatched,” the lady said, smiling.
“Meow meow mew.” the cat said, followed by a strange, almost laughing, sound.
“Not helping, Teekl,” Klarion said with a huff. He then looked to the lady again. “You are a daughter of chaos itself, a goddess. If anyone can bring this child into line, it is you,” Klarion said, hopefully.
“You know perfectly well that I cannot leave my realm,” she said firmly.
Klarion sat down on the obsidian floor and laughed. “Rules, laws set down by gods who think everyone should follow them. There are always ways to get around them.”
“Now the real question. Why?” The lady looked down at witch boy as he sat on the floor playing with his cat.
Klarion put his hands together, cupping them. He then pulled them apart, forming a ball of light, with energy crackling between his fingers. The image of Celestia standing in the street coalesced in the center of the sphere. “You are the Queen of the Night. You have stood since the beginning of time as one of the most powerful goddesses. Zeus himself fears you. You gave birth to Night and Day. This child of the sun should be yours to control. You are Nyx, after all.”
“I will consider it, if she proves worthy of my attention, that is,” Nyx said firmly.
“Then I will bid my leave.” In a flash of vermillion and crimson, Klarion vanished back to the realms of man.
Nyx sat on her throne a smile on her face. “Interesting.”
***
To Celestia, the helipad seemed to be the best place to land. It wasn’t occupied, but was right beside a large building and near a main road. She descended in a lazy spiral, gradually bleeding off both speed and altitude. She gently set the man on the ground once she had firmly planted all four hooves.
Folding her wings against her side, she looked at the human. He sat hugging his legs laughing as he rocked back and forth on the ground. Tears streamed from his eyes, yet he laughed as if he had no cares.
Glancing up, Celestia could see the Greek writing on the side of the building. While spending time with the Amazons she had learned some terms, she knew this was a hotel or resort of some sort, Spíti tis Thálassas, House of the Sea.
“Now what?” Pegasus asked as he landed, folding his wings as he moved to stand beside Celestia.
Sighing, Celestia lowered her head. “We wait for Diana or another grownup to help us.”
“You do realize I am over 2000 years old, right?” Pegasus said with a smile in his voice.
“Oh good, so you know what to do then!” Celestia looked hopeful and wiggled her tail.
“Yep, we . . . wait for Diana. She’s the ambassador to the human world,” he said, holding his head high. Blinking once, he looked around. “And, we seem to be drawing a crowd.”
Looking around Celestia saw people, tourists and natives, talking among themselves and taking photos. Some recorded the scene on their smartphones, while the bolder ones crowded in for selfies.
“Really! We have a guy here who’s gone nuts, and they want to film it rather than getting help?” Celestia sighed and shook her head.
Spreading his wings wide Pegasus walked forward and whinnied loudly. His actions were enough to cause the people to keep their distance, but not enough to make them disperse. Thumping a forehoof on the ground, Celestia was starting to feel very uncomfortable with all the people around.
Celestia felt as though she had been waiting for hours; however, her perception of time was likely skewed by her emotions. Diana finally arrived in a flash of light from a transporter beam. Looking around, she shook her head before walking over to the pilot.
Kneeling down, she touched her ear with a finger. “Batman, we have another one. Celestia has him on the ground. He’s laughing non-stop.”
In another transporter flash, Batman appeared, holding an auto injector in his hand. Celestia shrank behind Pegasus, trembling. Narrowing her eyes, she watched the Batman carefully; she couldn't forget the taste in her mouth after being drugged so many times.
Ignoring Celestia, Batman knelt down and drew some blood from the man. He transferred a few drops to a test tube filled with reagent. He stared intensely as he swirled the tube around. A few moments later, he shook his head. “It’s not Joker Toxin, unless it’s a radically different formula. Superman’s chasing down an out of control Turkish Airways jet bound for Gotham. It left Athens airport this afternoon.”
“I think it's magical,” Celestia said, closing her eyes, her horn glowing. “I can feel the chaos and corruption.”
“How do you know?” Diana asked, putting her hand gently on Celestia’s withers.
“It’s like the magic that gave the Timberwolves life, but much stronger,” Celestia responded. She then glared at Batman.
Batman stood up. “You’re letting her off the island now?”
“Now is not the time or place to discuss this,” Diana said firmly, narrowing her eyes defiantly. “And, she is not a prisoner.”
Looking down at the pilot, who was still laughing, Batman shook his head. “It’s like a psychosis; they lose the ability to think rationally, and their actions become . . .”
“Chaotic.” Diana finished. “If they are under the influence of some spell, then they would all have to had come into contact with the caster.”
Stepping forward, Celestia lowered her head to touch her horn to the pilot. Closing her eyes, she lit her horn and started searching with her magic. She knew the answer was there, somewhere. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for exactly, but she had to try.
Stepping forward, Batman put his hand to his utility belt, only to be grabbed by Diana. She put her fingers around his wrist with a vice-like grip that made him flinch in pain for a moment. Narrowing her eyes, Diana stated simply, “Let her try.”
“It’s like he’s forgotten who he is,” Celestia said, “forgotten what he is.”
Touching his hear Batman shook his head. “Send Zatanna here.”
“I think . . . Oh, I see.” Celestia concentrated a bit harder, her horn glowing bright.
The teleporter beam flashed and danced in colors for a moment as Zatanna appeared beside Batman, blinking. “What’s going on?”
A brilliant glow shone from the pilot’s hips; even through his pants, the glow could be seen. For a moment, a trio of blue and white dragonflies could be seen in the aura. Opening his eyes, both flashed with white light. A cloud of smoke and mist rose from the dragonfly-shaped holes in the pilot's pants before he stopped laughing and sat up on the ground, panting.
Looking around slowly, the pilot quickly scooted away when he saw Celestia. When he tried to speak, his voice was harsh and broken. Speaking in barely intelligible Greek, he croaked, “What, what’s going on?”
Diana shook her head. “Don’t talk. We will get you to the hospital.”
Zatanna moved up beside Celestia, putting her hand on the mare’s back. “What did you do?”
“It’s like he forgot who he was, so I sort of reminded him of his true self and his true purpose,” Celestia said. She stood proudly. “Once he remembered that, it broke the magic and freed him.”
“So, what was the flash of light on his hips?” Zatanna asked.
“I . . . I guess it was a graphical representation of his true self; in his case, he likes zipping around in his plane. So, the dragonflies represented that.” Celestia smiled. “They vanished when they burned out the chaos magic. I guess they cancelled each other out.”
“I think I understand. I’m not sure, but I think I could duplicate that spell with some practice,” Zatanna said. “That was really good thinking.”
Giggling, Celestia lowered her head. “It just came to me.”
“Good,” Batman said firmly. “If you can duplicate that, we have at least twenty more cases to deal with.”
“I said I think I could, Bats. This is magic we are talking about. It might take more powerful magic than I have to duplicate it. I don’t know.” Zatanna shook her head firmly. “I say we bring Celestia with us.”
“I don’t know if that’s safe. We still don’t understand the extent of her powers or her control,” Batman said firmly.
“I’m right here, you know,” Celestia said, feeling rather dejected.
“Well, I’m not sure I can do the spell myself. I need her,” Zatanna said firmly.
“Can Doctor Fate do it?” Batman asked Zatanna directly.
Zatanna shook her head. “Not without seeing and working with Celestia.”
Lights and siren announced the ambulance as it arrived at the helipad. Turning her back on Batman, Diana helped the paramedics move the pilot onto a gurney. It would probably take him days to recover to the point where he could speak normally again.
Narrowing his eyes, Batman looked at the equines before touching his earpiece. “Watchtower, send us all to the Gotham Hospital; we may be able to help those stricken there.”
Author's Notes:
Rich-Online Has taken on editing.
7: Princess Knight
The click of footsteps echoed and reverberated through the halls in the Temple of Darkness. The walls that so greedily devoured light emphatically rejected sound. Nyx contemplated the words of her last visitor as she walked. She had no doubt that the witch boy had a large personal stake in the matter. Still, there was some truth to his words. He was not exaggerating about her accomplishments; she was the goddess of night, the daughter of the celestial titan, Chaos. Reaching out to the onyx walls, she traced the moldings and reliefs with her fingers, as if the textures might aid in divination. What was the nature of this new force? Would it be as easily swayed as Klarion had intimated? To whom would it be swayed? To Zeus? To Ares? Was it worth the risk of having such a dangerous adversary?
Nyx stopped in the middle of a large chamber. She had settled on her course of action. She reached out with her hands and began to trace out intricate patterns in more dimensions than the human mind could perceive. Tendrils of aether and mana materialized and flowed like mist, adding definition to her movements. As she progressed, the chamber seemed to fill with a sculpture of gossamer that grew around the goddess.
Smiling at her handiwork, Nyx knelt and began drawing up obsidian from the ground. The glassy stone flowed like water as it was shaped to Nyx's will. Gracefully it spiraled, dancing to the fertile imagination of a being older than time.
Carefully, she worked, pulling ever more obsidian from the ground. Stumps of hooves sprouted into graceful legs. A tapered barrel bridged the legs. The graceful curves of shoulders and thighs came next. With greater confidence, the rest of the body came. The process ended with the proud head, with eyes closed, upon the sturdy neck. The obsidian solidified with the body complete. This was now a statue of a mare, graceful and strong, a beauty worthy of a princess. No ordinary mare, it was a projection of Nyx's personality, power, and will. Powerful wings hinted at flights of fancy. The long, tapered horn was a focal point for the power of dreams.
“It needs something,” Nyx said softly as she walked around the statue. “Something special.”
Smiling softly, Nyx removed her cloak. A broad swath fluttered away into her free hand as she replaced the remainder on her shoulders. With a shake of her wrist, she separated the swath into two broad strips. Stone molded like putty as she pressed one to the back of the head and the other above the end of the spine. Stepping back, she studied the positioning. Satisfied, she gestured with both hands before holding them palm up. A ball of mana formed between her hands and then floated over the statue where it burst into a shower of sparkles. The cloth transformed into star-spangled mane and tail that flowed in the ethereal breeze, each part was a representation of the night sky. Their Persian blues were a perfect complement to the cornflower blue of the obsidian.
Walking in front of the statue, Nyx placed her hands under the statue's chin and gave the mare a mother's kiss before softly blowing into its nose. Where her breath touched, the mare transformed from stone to flesh and blood. When the transformation was complete, it gave a gasp. What was cold stone was now a living being, warm to the touch. The mare opened her eyes and stepped back slowly, spreading her wings for balance.
Despite her apparent age, the mare was very much a newborn. She swung her head about as she took in the sights around her, slashing with her horn. She looked at each hoof in turn, lifting and lowering as she marveled at the novelty. Her tail flicked of its own volition; she turned to see that, too was a part of her. Her slitted irises expanded like a cat's as her eyes adjusted to the lack of light in the realm.
“Easy now. Good morning, my daughter,” Nyx said, smiling.
“Daughter?” The mare looked around before settling her gaze on Nyx.
“Yes, you are my daughter, my princess of the night, my night mare,” Nyx said, stroking the mare’s mane.
The mare looked up blinking and bowed her head slightly toward Nyx. “What do you wish, mother?”
“I wish you to bring someone into line. I wish you to tame the sun.”
***
The flickering of rebellious fluorescent lights was a familiar part of the dreary ambiance in Gotham General. Water-stained ceiling tiles and cracked linoleum floors were but a few of the victims of deferred maintenance. The occasional patch of plaster showed where errant gurneys had scraped along the walls. Despite the staff's best efforts to keep things clean and maintained, they were clearly losing their battle against entropy. The pride of Gotham's public health system was more humble than any place of healing should be.
The triage center in the emergency room never rested. Doctors and nurses frantically evaluated patient after patient with no regard to creed or color. There was no shortage of critical cases. Police officers laid low by gang violence were grouped with civilians maimed by metacriminals. Even criminals hoist by their own petards, or those of others, received urgent care so long as there was hope of survival. The stream of dying patients never ended. This was Gotham, after all, where hope came to die.
Despite the chaos, there was one area in the emergency room that was always kept clear. A corona of energy excited the lamps in that section of hallway, bringing a sudden surge of cool light. Savvy nurses recognized this as the signature of a transport beam.
A moment later, Batman, Diana, and Zantanna appeared in the hall, along with Celestia and Dash. The group looked around, blinking a few times as their eyes adjusted from the brightness of the midday Mediterranean sun to the unnatural dimness of Gotham Central at night.
“Ok, now I feel claustrophobic,” Dash said with a huff as she discovered that the hallway was too narrow for her to spread her wings.
“You two had better take your small forms,” Diana said. “I’m not sure you could turn around in these halls otherwise.”
With a nod, Celestia closed her eyes and lit her horn, slowly shrinking down to her Tia form. Looking over, she saw Dash match her form, shaking herself out before striking a pose.
“Let’s do this!” the little pegasus said as she flared her wings and lifted a foreleg.
Raising an eyebrow, Batman looked down at the eager pegasus. “Do what exactly?”
Dash wilted and blinked a few times before she responded head proudly. "We protect Celestia and the others while she helps people. That’s why you and me are here, right? We can't do magic, so we're the muscle."
Zatanna laughed softly as she looked between the pony and Batman. “Well, she got you there, Bats.”
Coming around the corner, a nurse gasped, putting her hand over her mouth.
Batman strode toward the nurse. “Where are they?”
The nurse glanced Batman blinking. “Where are who? And who are these two little cuties?”
Rolling his eyes Batman turned to Zatanna. “Don’t say a word.” Looking back at the nurse, the Batman put on a stern face. “The victims from the Turkish Airways flight.”
“Oh, yes. YES!” Turning she started heading down the halls. “They're this way. We're hoping you brought a lot of Joker venom antidote.”
The ward set aside for the victims was pure bedlam. Each bed held a patient, sedated and restrained, who raved maniacally and incoherently. Each was in their own world, reacting loudly to things only they could perceive. A normal person would be hard-pressed to endure being around just one of the victims. The ward held a hundred. One hundred ranting maniacs were crammed in a room meant for fifty. Privacy screens had been ripped away to accommodate the extra patients, and the beds were so close together that there was barely enough room for an average-sized adult to squeeze between them. The only area with any real room was the aisle, which was wide enough for a standard gurney.
The room itself had the welcoming ambiance of a haunted house. Fluorescent fixtures hummed and flickered as if speaking for restless poltergeists. Plastic sheets taped to the ceiling thumped at a funeral cadence as slow, steady leaks dripped onto them. The occasional flare of lightning and rumble of thunder added to foreboding atmosphere.
“There’s so many of them,” Tia said, walking slowly beside Zatanna as she ruffled her wings.
Looking over her shoulder, the nurse shook her head. “The plane carried three hundred and sixty-seven on board -- we have one hundred in this ward and another ninety-three downstairs. There are one hundred and seventy four in quarantine who haven’t shown any symptoms yet. That includes passengers and crew.”
“Don’t worry,” Zatanna said softly. “It may take some time but between the two of us, I think we can get them all.”
Dash fidgeted uncomfortably as she stood amid the chaos. Diana knelt so that their eyes were at the same level. "Dash, why don't you keep an eye on the people in quarantine? Batman can stand guard here while I look after the victims downstairs."
Dash gave a quick salute. "You got it!"
Tia watched as the two went to their assignments. Looking up at Zatanna, then at Batman, she took a breath before taking her adult form.
Waving her wand, Zatanna smiled. “Thgis fo eht dnim.” The words flowed out as mists formed around Zatanna. Her eyes glowing for a moment as the vision enhancement took hold. “Ok, now I'm ready. I want to be sure I get this right.”
Celestia touched her horn to one of the stewardesses. The lights in the room brightened as Celestia’s horn glowed. In response, the woman calmed down while the hips of her skirt burned away. Each hip glowed brightly with a golden lightning bolt in field of three stars. The symbols faded away as she coughed up some reddish-green smoke and drifted away into a peaceful slumber.
“Ok I think I have this,” Zatanna said. She walked over to a passenger in the adjacent bed. “Eht kram fo s'eno ynitsed, delaever!” As she finished, the hips of the man's pants burned away. Each hip glowed brightly with the symbol of a horseshoe before he coughed up reddish-green smoke as well.
Wobbling a bit, Zatanna shook her head. “Wow, that takes a lot out of you. It's doable though. We can do this!”
Spreading her wings wide, Celestia squeezed between two beds, letting her horn glow. Two more passengers completed the ritual, coughing up smoke to signal success. Celestia turned to Zatanna and winked. “Two at once?”
“Show off,” Zatanna said and stuck her tongue out as she healed a third. “The marks seem random.”
“It's a sign of who a person really is, so it's not really random,” Celestia said. "It's just personalized."
“Kind of like yours shows your connection to the sun?”
“I guess; I didn't notice when I got it. I do love the feel of the sun on my back and wings, though. Best of all, I don't need that icky sunscreen anymore." Celestia wobbled as she shifted back to her smaller form. Dramatically, she lay on the floor with her legs splayed out. “This is exhausting. Can we break for a sundae?”
“A sun day?” Zatanna stopped and steadied herself against a bed.
Gruffly, Batman replied, "Hundreds are counting on you. You can't just wait for the weekend."
“I have a craving for a triple fudge sundae on a bed of chocolate caramel cake.” Looking over, Tia wagged her tail. “Have you got one of those in your bat belt? Maybe a piece of bat-nana bread?”
“There are still over ninety sick in this ward alone,” Batman said, scowling. “You don’t stop for a snack break in the middle of a mission.”
Zatanna looked at the Batman and shook her head. “Bats, this is exhausting. It's going to take us a few days to heal everyone. We are going to need to take breaks. She’s still a little girl, too, you know.”
“In situations like this, you need to power though your issues,” Batman said firmly.
Tia shook her head vigorously, “Nuh uh. Chiron and Pegasus both said that in cases like this, you need to work slow in stages. Trying to do too much too fast will lead to mistakes, and with magic, mistakes are bad.”
Zatanna nodded slowly. “She’s got you there.”
Narrowing his eyes, Batman turned and stalked away. Ever the detective, he recorded every detail he could about each victim, starting his examination with the victim furthest from the magic users.
“Come on, Tia; let's get you a snack. I can hear your stomach grumbling from here,” Zatanna said as she led the filly out.
“I always kinda wanted to be like Wonder Woman or Supergirl,” Celestia said, “but you're really cool, too.”
“Thanks, and trust me, after healing only three of the passengers, I feel tired, and, that’s without all the extra stuff you did,” Zatanna said as she walked into the cafeteria
Blinking, Tia hid behind Zatanna’s leg. “Why is everyone staring at me?”
“Because they haven’t seen anyone so cute?” Zatanna said, looking down. She then turned to address the server. “Ok, can I get something special? If you can put two of those chocolate fudge brownies into a bowl, cover it with chocolate ice-cream, then add some whipped cream and sprinkles, times two.”
***
The legend of the Morlocks was greatly exaggerated. The network of service tunnels that ran beneath the streets of Gotham were used to route utility lines, connecting the buildings downtown to their service providers. Normally, they were accessed only occasionally by a utility worker, and locked gates were placed at irregular intervals to discourage the tourists. However, as a shadowy pair proved, no deterrent is absolute.
In the subbasement of the hospital, the lock to the service tunnel door hissed as acid dissolved the mechanism. As the door was opened with little fanfare, a feminine voice laughed, "Door locks for Morlocks!" Unseen in the darkness, the second figure rolled his eyes.
Dim bulbs lighted the staircase leading to the basement. As the pair made their way up. the sound of a squeaky wheel filled the hall, echoing down the long, dim corridor. An orderly pushed a gurney covered with a sheet. The tinny sound of distorted music came from the cheap headphones he wore. As the intruders watched the worker, one nodded at him and said, "He'll do just fine." The intruder's permanent smile was not a reflection of his emotions; it was a warning to all who came near.
Giggling softly, the man stepped from the shadows, arms akimbo, with his hands in the pockets of his purple suit. He stopped the gurney with one foot and exclaimed, “Well, hello there! You’re the lucky winner!”
The orderly struggled with the gurney before looking up. His eyes went wide with terror as he pulled down his headphones. He stammered, "The . . . the . . . the . . ."
Leaning forward and putting his hands on the gurney, the man smiled wider. “I think the word you're looking for is 'Joker', but I can see how you might forget, especially with someone stealing my schtick.”
“Your . . . stick?” the orderly asked, trembling.
Laughing softly the Joker shook his head. "Schtick. You know, my calling card? Come now, hundreds coming down with bouts of laughing? Calls for cures for Joker gas? It seems just like my sort of party, and yet, I wasn’t even invited. Now tell me, is that fair?”
“N-no, sir . . . Mr. Joker, sir...” The orderly gulped.
Waving his hands wildly, the Joker spun on the spot. “So where is it, then? Where’s the party?”
“P-party?” The orderly looked around, eyes wide in fear as he trembled.
“Yes, you know, with all those happily smiling faces of the people brought here. Come on, man, I haven’t got all day. I have things to kill, people to do.” Stopping, the Joker tapped his chain with a finger. “Wait, no, that’s not right. Things to do, people to kill. Oh yes, it’s night, not day, so I haven’t got all night.”
The Joker whipped the sheet off the gurney, revealing the corpse underneath. He sniffed, "Meh, I've seen better." He shoved the corpse off the gurney and lay down on the conveyance.
The trembling orderly looked fearfully from the Joker to the corpse and back to the Joker again. The villain said, "Harley, why don't you take care of our loose end?"
"Sure thing, Mr. J."
The orderly whipped around. Somehow, Harley was now carrying a gigantic mallet. He turned back to the Joker, puzzled. The Joker shrugged. "I never figured that out, either."
The orderly dropped to the floor next to the corpse as Harley brought the mallet down on his head. "Why don't you and Stiffany enjoy a bit of quality time?"
Harley roughly took the orderly's lab coat and credentials. She stuffed her mask in a pocket and pulled back her hood. A few swipes of a borrowed handkerchief removed her makeup. Putting on the coat, she found it to be a loose fit. Still, it was good enough for a quick disguise.
The Joker covered himself with the sheet. Sticking one arm out he twirled his hand and said, “To the party, Jeeves!”
Harley replied, “Sure thing, Puddin'; just one question.”
Getting comfortable on the stretcher, the Joker asked, “What’s that?”
“Who’s Jeeves?” Harley asked, tilting her head.
Face-palming through the sheet, Joker moaned, “Oy... Just wheel me upstairs.”
Wheeling the gurney into the elevator, Harley tapped the button for their desired floor and then tilted her head. Giggling, she then proceeded to tap the buttons for all the floors above their destination before walking behind the gurney and starting to hum. “What ever happened to elevator music, Mr. J?”
At the destination floor, the elevator gave a melodic chime before the doors opened. Harley leaned out and looked both ways. Satisfied that the coast was clear, she pulled the gurney out and wheeled it to ward, parking it just outside the door.
***
“I’ve alerted the other magical members of the league,” Batman said. He shook his head. “They will not be able to help until they learn the spells, and even Doctor Fate is unsure whether he could master it in as short a time as you and Celestia.”
Lowering her wand, Zatanna leaned back against a bed. “Trust me, Bats, even I haven’t mastered it. I don’t even understand it fully, so it's hard for me to cast.”
“That’s because it was cast by Eris.” Jason Blood walked in, holding a book. “Sorry I took so long; I needed to be sure.”
“Eris?” Zatanna said with a gulp.
Narrowing his eyes, Batman looked at one of the victims. “Eris, Discordia, the lady of chaos, a Greek goddess.”
“This also isn’t her normal style,” Jason stated. “Usually, her acts are far more subtle, though often having far-ranging and destructive ends. When not invited to a party hosted by Zeus, she slipped a golden apple in to be awarded as a prize for the most beautiful there. This action not only led to infighting among the gods, it also spilled over with the Judgment of Paris, to ignite the Trojan War, leading to the adventures of the refugee Aeneas, leading to the even founding of Rome... To think western civilization as we know it happened because she got snubbed once upon a time."
Tia blinked and giggled. “Note to self, always invite Discordia to galas.”
Harley blinked looking down at the little pony and squeaked. Putting her hand over her mouth, she tried hard to look normal, but couldn’t look away from the little filly.
Looking up, Tia smiled. “Could you get me a juice box? Please?”
Glancing up, the Batman looked across at the orderly for a moment as she picked up a juice box from the tray, putting a straw in it. Walking back over, she knelt down, hugging Tia. “You're just adorable.”
Holding the juice box between her forelegs, at her pasterns, the little alicorn filly took the straw in her muzzle and started to sip. As she did, she looked up with a smile and tilted her head to the side.
“Harley! What are you doing here?” the Dark Knight said as he started walking forward.
“Giving this little cutie pie a drink; what’s it look like?” Harley Quinn stated without looking up. “Isn’t she just too cute?”
“Harley!” Batman scowled as he reached towards his belt.
“Hehehehe!” laughing almost joyfully, the Joker sat up, spinning around on his gurney and crossed his legs. “Oh, Harls, can’t you contain yourself for just a little while? Girls sometimes, right, Bats? I guess the jig is up.”
Pulling out a batarang, the Batman snapped it to full extension as he narrowed his eyes.
Putting both hands up, the Joker smiled. “Ok, ok, you got me. I was just here to see who was stealing my schtick. Turns out it's not even close to the fun I have. Someone really needs to teach this Discordia how to do it with pizazz.” The sound of a dozen whoopie cushions filled the hospital, echoing through the vents. The simulated flatulence lasted almost three seconds. Then, a soft hiss filled the air as green mist started leaking out the ventilation ducts. “Oh, Bats, seriously, you couldn’t hold it in?” the Joker said, giggling. “Harley, grab a hostage; I think we’ve overstayed our welcome.”
Blinking, Harley looked down at Tia and shrugged, “Sure thing, Mister J.”
Falling backwards off the gurney, the Joker laughed as a batarang flew overhead, embedding itself in the wall behind him. “Whoops, time to go. You might want to do something about that gas problem, Bats. Others might find it offensive.”
“It’s ok, you adorable little chipmunk cheeks; Mama Harley is going to take good care of you,” Harley said as she hugged Tia tight to her chest.
Panicked, Tia turned to look back to her friends. She relaxed slightly when Batman gave a subtle shake of the head.
Running for the door, Batman skidded to a stop as he donned his respirator. Green gas was seeping down from the ventilation ducts. Looking back, he saw Zatanna with a bubble around her and Jason Blood. Though Zatanna was giggling, tears streamed from her eyes as her wand wobbled in the air.
Narrowing his eyes, Batman looked towards the direction the Joker gone. The vigilante turned back to Zatanna. Pulling out an autoinjector, he stuck it into Zatanna’s arm and pulled the trigger.
Coughing a few times, Zatanna snapped her wand, sending a pulse of magic to neutralize the gas. “We need to contain this.”
“I have a supply of Joker venom antidote,” the Batman said as he looked in the direction the Joker had gone. “There could be hundreds who will need treatment immediately.”
“What about Tia?” Zatanna asked, almost in a panic.
“Harley won’t hurt her. I’ll track them down once everything is settled here,” the Batman said as he injected a doctor with the last vial from his utility belt.
“But how are you going to find her? She’s in small form; she’ll be hard for magic to track,” Zatanna said as she worked her wand, extending the neutralization spell.
Standing up, the Batman pulled out a hand tracker from his utility belt. “I don’t need magic; I tagged her wing with a digital tracker.”
“WHEN?” Zatanna said with a look of pure shock on her face.
“The first night when she changed. I am not taking any chances with something that powerful.”
Author's Notes:
thanks to rich-online for wash
and to kalash93 for rinseof this chapter.
8: To Stand against the Knight
Gotham was dying. The cancer of corruption had metastasized, spreading throughout the city in the form of ever-increasing taxes that strangled businesses and residents alike, taxes that were supposed to fund the city, but, instead, ended up in the pockets of the ruling elite. Protection payments compounded the burden. One particularly necrotic neighborhood, however, had just a bit more life than the casual observer would expect.
In this industrial necropolis of abandoned warehouses and shuttered factories, there was little to distinguish this three-story building from the others in the area. It had once been the source of joy for the young and young at heart. Now, however, age and neglect had transformed the once-smiling clown mascot of the Laugh Factory into a leering demon.
Behind the crumbling facade, the interior was a little better. A few naked lightbulbs cast pools of harsh light, well away from the boarded windows. The factory floor was still lettered with broken machines, worn out parts, and misshapen pieces of toys. The foreman's office, however, had been unceremoniously emptied of everything except for a desk and chair, affording its new occupant a view of the production floor. Despite the mess, many of the bits and pieces left behind had been repurposed, or integrated into infernal devices. The one who had overseen the transformations, such as they were, roared in the cavernous space.
“Harley!” The Joker's voice echoed. “Are you really that stupid?”
His footsteps boomed like gunshots in the still air.
“What were you thinking? I told you to grab a hostage, and you took THAT!”
“But pudding, isn’t she adorable? And she’s smart, too,” Harley said, cradling the little pony in her arms looking at the Joker with puppy-dog eyes.
“Smart, you say?” the Joker asked, leaning down, looking at Tia.
Harley nodded vigorously. “She can talk; she asked me for juice.”
Poking Tia’s nose once with a finger, the Joker smiled. “Then maybe she’s worth something to someone after all.”
“She’s like a huggable supersized Pretty-Pretty Pony doll, Mr. J.”
“And that’s why you took her?” the Joker asked as the raised his arm to reprimand the clown girl.
Flinching and closing her eyes, Harley emphatically shook her head. “Nuh uh, Mr. J. I took her cuz she was the closest, non-sick one around.”
“Well put her in the bird cage then. We don’t want her flying off,” the Joker said as he turned, walking to his desk. As he sat, he grumbled, “We still don’t know who’s stealing my schtick.”
Harley walked down to the factory floor. Beside a worn-out conveyer belt leading to a stamping machine, a large, silvery cage stood. It had been removed from a long-forgotten parade float, and what had been its chassis lay in pieces, awaiting refurbishment.
Carefully, Harley put Tia into the cage, giving her mane one last rub. The clown girl softly said, "I'm sorry, little one." Looking up at the office, Harley shouted, "Don't worry, Mr. J.You'll figure it out."
Tia pronked about the perimeter of the cage, swinging it about. "Ooh! Ooh! I know! I know!"
"Know what?" asked Harley.
"Know who's stealing his schtick."
"Really?"
“It's Eris,” Tia shouted, looking up at the Joker.
Blinking, Harley looked confused for a moment. “Who, you say?”
“Eris, Goddess of Discord and Chaos, she’s the one driving people to madness,” Tia said then making air quotes with her forehooves, “stealing his schtick.”
The Joker looked up from the blueprints that he had spread out on his desk and shouted, "Harley! Leave the hostage alone! Make yourself useful and clean up or do laundry or something!"
“But she knows who’s stealing your act, Mr. J.” Bounding away from the cage, Harley squeaked and laughed. “She said it was some goddess named Eris.”
“Really now? And just why would a goddess want to imitate me?” The Joker said, “I know I’m the best and all, but seriously.”
With a giggle Tia looked up through the bars. “Because Eris is a goddess, ancient like Hades, Zeus, and such, and she gets super bored every once in a while.”
“Oh, who asked you anyway!” the Joker yelled. Grumpily, he rested his chin on his balled fists. “This day just gets better and better.”
Harley leaned to the side, stroking the Joker's cheek. “Oh Mr. J, you don’t look so well. You’re even more pale than usual. It’s all this stress, isn’t it? Maybe you should take a day off, get some sun.”
“Sun? SUN?! Who has time for sun when I’ve got a goddess trying to out-Joker me!”
“Oh, I can help with that!” Tia said, smiling lightly her horn beginning to glow brilliantly.
“What?” The Joker blinked, looking down at the pony and shielding his eyes for a moment. “Wait, what are you . . . STOP!”
Outside the decrepit factory, the brilliant flash of light that bled through every crack and hole in the building briefly turned the dark and stormy night into a bright and stormy day. Inside the building, everyone was blind, except for the little pony who marveled at how all the color that had been in the room had faded to shades of grey.
“Ooh, sparkly,” Harley said, waving a hand in front of her eyes and blinking vigorously as she tried to get her eyesight back.
“Harley,” the Joker said, his voice filled with a terrifying calm.
“Oops, sorry. I guess that was a little too much. Is everyone ok?” Tia asked innocently as she looked around the warehouse.
“Umm, yes, Mr. J?”
“Be a doll and find me some burn cream,” the Joker said, as he remained totally still. He was trying not to move anything, not even his lips. “And some SPF 5000, in case she does that again.”
“Yes Mr. J.”
***
Those standing near the little pegasus in Gotham General would swear that the heater had broken. The fire of Dash's anger burned like a blast furnace. Her tail thrashed as she paced, her wings twitching. Even Diana knew better then to challenge a daughter of the great Pegasus. Those equines were often temperamental and did not give trust easily.
“You DO know where she is, right?” Diana said sternly.
Without looking away from the victims, Batman answered simply and coldly, “Yes. She’s with the Joker.”
“And it doesn’t bother you that that maniac took her?” Diana replied as she examined the Dark Knight.
“She’s safe for now. Harley is fascinated with her, and that should keep her protected in the short term. We need to stay focused on the mission. Power through and ignore distractions.” Standing up, Batman turned, looking at Jason Blood. “You haven’t found a faster or easier way to duplicate the child’s remedy.”
The sound of crumbling mortar and brick caused Jason to flinch, as the diminutive pegasus stood with one hoof firmly in the wall. Her eyes were narrowed, and her ears pointed almost straight back, flat against her head. “Distractions?” Snorting and breathing heavily, Dash looked up at Batman. “She was in no way a distraction!”
“But her kidnapping, horsenapping, is. The mission is and was, to contain the spread of the Jokers gas, treat those infected, and ensure containment of those who were infected by Eris is not breached.” Turning, the Batman looked down at Dash. “Now, when we are ready. we will go and get Celestia back. We will not, however, rush into things and put others at risk.”
Pointing to the sick, Zatanna let out a sigh. “There are only a few guild members who could even begin to counter that kind of magic. Doctor Fate is busy. Constantine might be able to do it, but I have no idea how to contact him. That just leaves me. We need Celestia’s help.”
Turning to face Zatanna, Batman looked at her sternly. “We have contained this situation. Joker antidote is on its way; once you are injected to make sure you don’t break out into a fit, we will go.”
***
Like some ancient spell by Merlin himself, the dark blue mists drifted in from the sea, moving slowly across Gotham Bay. The mists brought darkness and frost to everything they touched, causing the sea spray to freeze in mid-air. The outer edges of the mists were bracketed in normal fog, cloaking the supernatural presence.
As the mists blanketed a lone fishing trawler, ice quickly formed on its deck and rails. One by one, the lights on deck were encased with ice before the dark tendrils of the mists crushed each one with a soft pop. Feeling around the boat, the mists worked their way inside, slowly sliding down the exhaust stack. Its presence choked out the engine, bringing an eerie silence to the craft.
The crew scrambled to restart the engine as the emergency lights came on. The lights gradually faded to black as the mists drifted across the batteries and the emergency generator. Without electricity, the ship's radio was rendered useless.
The mists turned their attention to the crew, putting them to sleep with a touch. It was the sleep of the damned, filled with nightmares of slow and terrifying deaths. No two nightmares were the same; whatever the victim feared the most was brought to the fore.
Slowly, the mists continued on their journey, homing in on their objective. They drew ever closer to the city, toward the sleeping inhabitants of Gotham, toward the docks and the waterfront.
In the former toy factory, a little pony stood on her hind legs and attempted to hop with them crossed. “Excuse me, Mrs. Quinn?”
Harley blinked and looked down at the little caged pony. “Whatcha need, cuddles?”
“Umm, is there a little ponies room? After all that apple juice I kinda have to use it,” Tia said as she blushed, softly swinging her cage back and forth with her hopping.
Harley blinked as she looked around the old factory. The decaying wood and rusting metal belied the fact that some things in the building had been restored to allow habitation. “The bathroom is over there, but . . .”
“Thank you, be right back,” Tia said as she lit her horn, vanishing from the cage in a flash of light.
Swinging her head around quickly, Harley heard the bathroom door close. “Wait, but . . . Mr. J . . .”
“What about Mr. J?” the dark voice came, followed by soft laughter. His footsteps echoed softly as he walked into his office.
“Umm, nothin' puddin'?” Harley trembled as she put her hands behind her back and rocked on the balls of her feet.
Standing up, the Joker's eyes caught the empty cage and slowly drifted back to Harley. “Harley, darling, where is our hostage?”
“She . . . she . . . she . . . had to go to the bathroom.” Stammering and stuttering, Harley took a step back and gulped heavily.
“And you just LET her?” the Joker asked, raising his voice before starting to roll up his sleeves. “Have you forgotten everything I’ve taught you?”
“But Mr. J, she had to go, and . . . you know, when you have to go, you have to go,” Harley said. She trembled as she closed her eyes tight. Joker grabbed her by the front of her costume, pulling her dangerously close.
Closing the door behind her, Tia trotted onto the factory floor before lighting her horn and appearing back in the cage with a flash giggling, “Thank you, Miss Harley.”
Looking down at the cage, the Joker tossed Harley aside carelessly and put both his hands on the banister as he leaned forward. “You can teleport!?”
“Uh huh,” Tia said nodding. “It’s not that hard.”
Watching the foal swing the cage back and forth, the Joker shook his head. “Then, why are you even here?”
Tilting her head to the side and closing her eyes, Tia smiled brightly, “Cuz Miss Harley asked nicely and gave me juice boxes.”
Slapping his hand over his face, the Joker groaned before looking at Harley. “And this is why I never work with kids or animals.”
“Umm, Mr. J?” Harley spoke softly, her voice trembling.
Turning the Joker snarled, “Harley, now is not the time to talk to me.”
The Jokers voice carried the promise of death as he narrowed his eyes. A moment later, he blinked as he saw the fog from his breath. Blowing out again, he watched the cloud slowly rise. “Harley, did you forget to pay the heating bill again?”
Without a word, Harley pointed quickly towards the front door. It was covered with frost, and blue mist slowly seeped under it, as well as through every crack and hole in the walls and the boarded windows.
Looking around quickly, the Joker saw the mists flowing ever closer from all directions, coming in through every opening in the walls, no matter how small. Every light bulb they touched froze over and then popped at they were crushed by the mists.
“Oh, come on Bats, fog like this? It's so last season. How many times have I done dark fogs?” the Joker called out angerly.
“Batman? Oh, how cute,” the soft woman's voice taunted. “This knave thinks it's all about him.”
“Of course it's all about me; I am the Joker!”
A tendril of fog drifted up to the Jokers leg, in response the clown prince pulled a long-barreled revolver from his jacket. The flag marked with "BANG!" that popped out was meant for laughs. The heavy slugs that followed were not. They traveled only a few inches into the fog before they stopped, frozen over, and fell to the floor. The mists grabbed the pair of miscreants and set them onto the factory floor.
“A gun? Really? Thou art truly the jester. We assume thou art the type to try to shoot Superman as well.” Soft feminine laughter filled the warehouse as if coming from the fog itself.
Harley hid behind the Joker. She grabbed him around the waist and peered out timidly. Shivering, she said, “What’s going on Mr. J?”
Lighting her horn, Tia held back the gloom. The entire factory was carpeted by the blue mist. The youngster stamped a forehoof, rocking the cage. She said, "Leave them alone."
The mist took shape, forming into a ring that reached to the tip of Tia's horn. As the mists circulated around the cage, the voice asked, “Caged already? Hast they already tamed thee little one? Are thou already broken?”
“Who . . . who are you?” Tia asked nervously.
“Who are we? We are the daughter of Nyx. We are the embodiment of darkness and night given form. We are thine worst dreams come true. We are the Nightmare of the Moon!” Coalescing, the mists took the form of the great midnight blue mare with large, feathered wings and a wickedly sharp, long unicorn's horn. She stood almost as tall as the Joker. Her laugh triggered primal fear, bordering on panic.
"There're two of them?!" Joker spun around and glared at Harley. "This is all your fault!"
Tia reached a forehoof through the cage and fumbled with the latch. Clumsily, she tumbled out as the door sprang open. She faced the Nightmare, staring in wide-eyed wonder as she slowly circled the mare.
Giggling Tia smiled, “You’re really pretty. I love your mane and tail; the whole star effect is really nice.”
Stepping back, the mare looked at her flowing mane and then back at the ordinary one that Tia sported. Nightmare's slitted eyes narrowed. “Thou art trying to distract me! Thou shall be tamed!”
Rearing up, the Nightmare towered over Tia. A wickedly sharp scythe formed from the dark magic that flowed from the dark alicorn's horn. With an "eep!" the smaller alicorn lit her horn as the scythe came slashing toward her. There was a blinding flash as the weapon struck her shield. The sounds of heavy machinery crashing to the floor could be heard as ricocheting scythe left a trail of destruction in its wake.
When everyone could see again, the tiny alicorn was gone. In her place was a majestic white mare, somewhat taller than her dark counterpart. Her face showed every bit of determination the Nightmare had displayed.
"Oops! Time to go!" The Joker shoved Harley to the floor. "Out of my way!"
It was Nightmare's turn to circle around Celestia. "So, thou doest know some paltry tricks. Wherefore doeth thou hide behind that disgusting, small form?" The dark mare spat out "small" like an expletive.
“Cuz I like it. It's relaxing. It's fun. It doesn't scare people."
Backwinging into the air, the Nightmare shouted, "Thou wilt know fear!" Another bolt of dark energy flew from her horn. Ignoring the attack, Celestia rocketed into the air. The bolt dug a trench in front of Harley just as a golden lance of energy from Celestia's horn caught the Nightmare between the wings, slamming her onto the floor.
“Mr. J! Wait for me!” Harley cried out. She stumbled backward and covered her head as another blast tore through the floor in front of her. "Mr. J! Help!"
Looking over his shoulder, Joker shouted, “You brought 'em here Harley! Get yourself out!” He tore open the back door and ran headlong into the Batman. "Oh, Bats! Good to see you! I warmed them up for you; they're all yours!"
Narrowing his eyes, the Batman looked down at the Joker. The Dark Knight ducked quickly as a beam of black energy cut through the building just above his head.
“They're going to bring the house down! I'd normally stick around for a good act, but I'm outta here!" The Joker scampered out on all fours and rolled down the stairs, into the alleyway.
“HELP!” Harley screamed. Pieces of the roof and ceiling rained down all around her.
Instinctively, she looked up as she heard an eerie groan. With a loud snap, an I-beam joist broke free and came tumbling down toward her. Suddenly, she was covered by warm, fluffy darkness.
Celestia slid sideways to shield Harley with her body as the alicorn sliced the beam in two with a golden blast from her horn. The pieces bounced off the hastily-erected shield that covered the alicorn and embedded themselves into the factory floor at awkward angles. Looking at the Nightmare she narrowed her eyes, “You would have killed her. Leave her out of this. If it's me you want, fight me.”
“Thou would'st protect this worm?” The Nightmare stamped a forehoof. Purple lightning bolts coursed up and down her leg as the building shook with the force of the blow. “Why? What is it to thee?”
“She was nice, polite, and gave me juice,” Celestia said. “I don’t want to have to fight you. We’re both ponies; we shouldn’t have to fight.”
“We are goddesses!” the Nightmare said as she lit her horn.
Celestia steeled herself for another attack, only to find that the Nightmare had snared a pair of bat-shaped projectiles mid-air with her magic. The Nightmare cocked her head, and the bluish aura surrounding the batarangs glowed brightly as the weapons were crushed down to spheres the size of golf balls. Their payload detonated with a soft hiss, crackle, and pop as the aura easily contained the force.
Narrowing his eyes, the Batman looked at the Nightmare, sizing her up, scanning, and analyzing her.
“You're Kidding? You are kidding, right? Thou art even more the fool than the purple buffoon.” With an annoyed flick of her tail, the Nightmare send out a lance of energy, cutting through the shadows. The Batman was forced to leap into the open to dodge the attack. “We are daughter of the Goddess of Darkness and Night. None are hidden from me in mine domain.”
Standing up Batman narrowed his eyes. “What do you want?”
“Her, serving chaos,” the Nightmare stated before looking at the Dark Knight analytically, “Though a bat man as a personal guard might serve me well, bat men, or, perhaps, bat ponies, mine soldiers of the night.”
“Don’t even bother trying, trust me. He doesn’t even want to be friends with me,” Celestia said with a sigh. “No sense of humor or fun.”
Blinking, the Nightmare looked back at the Batman. “Pity, his existence could hast had some meaning, serving me.”
Lighting her horn, Celestia gently lifted Harley, floating her over to Batman. “The guy doesn’t even trust me to do magic. He goes and gets others to make sure I can do it right.”
“And yet you trust him?” The Nightmare shot a glance at Batman as he picked up Harley.
Wrapping her arms around the Batman’s neck Harley groaned, “My hero.”
“I trust him to do what’s right,” Celestia said, taking a step forward.
“We are gods! None dare tell us what is right or wrong!” Slashing with her horn, the Nightmare fired off another blast that skittered across Celestia’s shield before shooting up into the roof.
Looking up, Celestia gave an "eep!" as she dove at the Nightmare and tackled her out of the way. A massive I-beam crashed down where the dark alicorn had been standing a moment earlier. Helping the smaller alicorn to her hooves, Celestia sighed. "We're ponies. We could be sisters."
Looking at the debris and then at Celestia, the Nightmare opened her mouth as if to speak but couldn’t find the words. Turning her head away, she reverted to mist form and wisped up through the hole in the roof.
Reviewing the remnants of her lunch on the Batman's cape, Harley whimpered, “I think I need a vacation.”
9: Darkest Knight
The tranquility of the dark chamber was shattered with every troubled hoofbeat that reverberated through the onyx and obsidian hallway. Anger and frustration were clear in the walls of sound that smashed against statues and sconces, only to be rebuffed, leaving ripples in the decorative basins. Confusion and uncertainty were projected by the pauses, each announced by torches that flared to life. While the light might have provided some comfort to the agitated mare, it also served to highlight the size of the massive chamber, casting long shadows that were devoured by the ever-present darkness.
Basalt columns, engraved with intricate patterns, towered at regular intervals as if they were dead trees that had sprouted from the raised deck of Calatorao marble that dominated the middle of the room. Creatures of myth and legend, carved from stone, silently stood watch around the base of the platform. A pair of great owl statues flanked the steps, their spread wings guiding the unwary away from the edges. At the top of the platform, wisps of steam could be seen rising from the room's primary feature, a large pool in the shape of a crescent moon.
Hesitantly, the visitor spoke from the base of the steps. "Mother?"
The woman lounging in the pool frowned. The tone of voice was ill-suited to the proud creature she had raised her daughter to be.
As she ascended the steps in the pool, Nyx said, "You are troubled, child." Reaching over, she retrieved a bath sheet from a lightning bolt wielded by a small statue of Zeus. Other towels were strategically draped over the figure, including a washcloth just below waist level. After taking a moment to luxuriate in the fluffy drape, she flicked her hand, transforming the towel into her cloak of stars and darkness, which swirled about her like a lazy cloud.
A dim ball of light appeared to one side of the platform. Walking slowly, the Nightmare followed it behind one of the owl statues. There, she found several large brown bolsters neatly arranged around an oval, charcoal-colored cushion sized just right for her. Shaking her head slowly, she went to the cushion and nuzzled it. She could feel the down gently sink underneath the velvet cover.
As she settled onto the silken patch at the center of the cushion, she found herself unable to enjoy its caress. Mentally, she continually replayed her last battle, trying to find even the slightest hint of why her opponent had spared her. Each time, she picked up a new detail. Each time, she found she had more questions than answers. She started as a gentle hand petted her mane.
From her perch on one of the bolsters, Nyx ran her hands through the creature's mane. "Speak your mind, my daughter."
"She poses little threat to you. She poses little threat to Discordia." The Nightmare sighed. Softly, she continued, "She has power, but not ambition. She seeks to protect, not conquer."
Nyx replied, "She is but one piece of a greater whole. Others seek to play games and gamble with souls. There are those that would try to bend her to their ends, given the chance."
"She . . . she put herself as risk to save me." Looking up, the young Nightmare blinked, trying to sort through things. "Why?"
"Instinct? Perhaps she believes that you are her kind." Nyx looked up as she hugged the Nightmare, softly brushing her mane. "Perhaps she was simply following her heart rather than her mind."
"She could have attacked me while I was distracted, gaining the upper hoof. She could have simply done nothing when I was about to be crushed. Why did she not? Is it not weakness to ignore such obvious opportunities?" asked the Nightmare, ear flicking in a mix of frustration and confusion.
"She left her guard open when she saved you. Did you not have an opportunity to strike at her?" Critically, Nyx looked down at the Nightmare.
"I . . . I don't know. I didn't even think about it," replied the Nightmare, sounding even more confused.
Slowly, Nyx shook her head. "You have a warrior's heart, yet you stayed your hoof. Did not you not show the same weakness you claim she has?"
With the slightest hint of defiance, the Nightmare replied, "I am not weak, mother."
Smiling, Nyx laughed softly. "If you were not weak in sparing her, then she was not weak in saving you. What is weakness? What is strength? That is something you will need to work out for yourself."
***
The relief was palpable as the white and cyan blur tumbled down the hallway in Gotham General. The thud of the sudden impact echoed down the corridors as the confusion of tail and mane, fur and feathers gradually came to a stop. Where the little alicorn had stood seconds before, a single horseshoe came clattering down onto the tile floor, spinning to a stop after what seemed like an impossibly long time aloft.
Much further down the hallway, the little white alicorn found herself pinned to the floor as a blue pegasus straddled her. "Tia, don't you dare do that again!" admonished Dash.
Laughing, Tia shook her head. "I was safe; the Harley girl wouldn't have hurt me."
"Still, you shouldn't take risks like that," Dash said firmly. "I'm supposed to guard and protect you."
Zatanna covered her mouth as she tried to resist laughing at the scene. She glanced sideways toward the Dark Knight, who was kneeling down to retrieve the horseshoe.
"Curious. It's bronze, worn smooth on both sides, and there is tarnish in the nail holes." The Dark Knight's scowl deepened. "Neither pony wears them."
Zatanna smirked. "I guess that means the shoe doesn't fit. Face it, Bats, it's hardly worth your time. Maybe there is no rational explanation. Maybe it's just magic."
Narrowing his eyes, the Batman looked at Zatanna. "In my experience, everything has a rational explanation. Even you admitted that all magic has a cost."
Shrugging, Zatanna replied, "Whatever it was that was affecting the patients, we now have it mostly under control. That having been said . . ." Zatanna stretched and yawned. ". . . I sensed a massive magical surge a while ago."
"That would have been our little pony doing battle with another of her kind," Batman said, "Someone, it seems, has made more."
Reaching over, Dash grabbed the horseshoe from Batman and tucked it under her wing, "I'll take that back. That's my lucky shoe."
"She's the daughter of Nyx, one of the Greek goddesses, I think," Tia said, poking her head out from under Dash's other wing. "She said she was there to tame or control me."
"I'm not even going to ask where or how she's carrying the horseshoe." Shaking his head, the Batman simply looked at Zatanna, "Nyx, Goddess of the Night. She is one of the few that Zeus is afraid of. We were lucky their battle was limited to just the warehouse."
"Not luck. I kept her there. Not luck! I didn't kill anyone. Not Luck! I even saved Harley's life. NOT Luck!" Smiling brightly Tia stuck out her tongue, tilting her head to the side with a wide bright smile.
Narrowing his eyes at the filly, Batman stood in stoic silence, arms crossed.
Slowly, Tia pulled her tongue back in. "eep." Retreating under Dash's wing, she squeaked, "Dash . . . He's still scowling at me, isn't he?"
Zatanna looked at Batman sternly as she put her hands on her hips. "Really? What's next on your agenda? Kicking puppies? Would it kill you to even show a hint of humanity?" The magician gave an exasperated growl. "Of course not. You're the Batman. That would just eat into your brooding time. Worse, it might brighten that dark image you like so much."
"There's a reason I work alone. Compliments, niceties, are a distraction from the mission," the Batman said firmly.
Tia peeked her head out from under Dash's wing. "I don't know. Maybe friends can help? Maybe, in a way, friendship is magic?" The filly gulped as the Batman locked his eyes on her. She stared back for a second before ducking back under Dash's wing. "Never mind. Friendship bad, brooding good. I get it."
Deliberately, Zatanna stepped in front of Batman before turning her back to him. Smiling, she knelt to Dash's level and said, "Okay. Do you know what we need? A party!"
Cautiously, Tia poked her head out. "A party?"
Nodding, Zatanna replied, "We can get ice cream and cake. Maybe we can watch some good cartoons so we can unwind. What say we go back to the Watchtower and raid the cafeteria for any snacks the Flash hasn't managed to find and celebrate?"
Both ponies perked their ears, tails wiggling. Batman, however, turned. As he walked down the hall, he said, "I need to do some research. I'll be in the cave."
Looking back, Zatanna said, "You really should join us. Goodness knows we could all use a break."
Receding footsteps were Batman's answer. Zatanna shrugged before turning back to hug the ponies. "More for us, then."
Dash and Tia looked at each other then sat up quickly to nod once. "Sounds good."
Tapping her earpiece gently, Zatanna said, "J'onn, can you bring us three to the Watchtower?"
A moment later, the three were surrounded by the glowing lights. The smell of ozone quickly filled the air as sparkles and flashes danced around them. A loud hum reverberated through the hospital corridor as the three vanished.
When the lights faded, the three found themselves surrounded by a different type of sterility. Through the observation window, they could see the vastness of space as they looked beyond the big blue marble that was Earth. They had rematerialized on the League's orbital space station.
Rising, Zatanna said, "Come on, you two. Follow me."
The ponies stared, wide-eyed as they trotted through the station. Tia pronked as she exclaimed, "This is better than sci-fi! Isn't it great?"
Nervously, Dash replied, "Yeah . . . great." She took mincing steps, looking every which way as she followed the exuberant filly.
Zatanna came to a stop in front of a large blank panel. "This is where the real action happens." She placed a hand on the panel. It slid back, revealing a multitude of displays and stations inside a massive room. The room, however, was mostly empty. Except for three humans and a meta seated around a bank of monitors, watching news feeds from around the world, everyone seemed to be walking about with a maintenance kit and a tablet, performing diagnostics and repairs to different bits and pieces around the room.
Dash counted on her hooves and wings before using Tia's. The filly snorted. "Ten people? That's it?"
Everyone in the room stopped and turned to face the new voice. Winged Victory, Shinning Knight's pegasus companion, launched himself from his station at the monitor bank and alit in front of the little alicorn. With wings spread, he curled his forelegs and dipped his head until it was just above the deck. In a regal tone, he whinnied, "My princess."
Tia groaned softly and put her hoof over her face. "Oh, come on! One supervillain calls you a princess and now nopony will let you live that down."
Dash patted Tia's head with a wingtip. "Oh, don't worry. We'll eventually forget it, my princess." Casually backflipping over Tia's playful wing smack, Dash looked up at the large stallion and said, "We are heading to the cafeteria for cake. Want to join us?"
Victory shook his head. "My duty is here. Someone has to help Sir Justin with his irregular verbs."
"You know, until now I never considered Victory actually talking. Any idea what they are saying?" the knight asked Zatanna as he watched the three equines whinnying.
With a slight smile, Zatanna glanced at the old armored knight. "Translation spell works well at times like this, but I find it interesting that she switches languages without realizing it."
"Okay, Dash, guess it's just us," Tia said then stood proudly, pointing at the door. "To the cafeteria! Cake awaits!"
***
"Angels and demons. Demons and angels."
The scientist's white lab coat billowed slightly as he paced back and forth in the control room, pulling at what little hair was left on the back of his head as he raged, shaking a fist. Blood welled from the scratches he had made on the back of his neck. The equipment that lined the room twinkled merrily in reds, blues and greens as their LEDs indicated the changes in statuses.
"They're mad! Why can't they see it? They have to see it!" he said as started another lap around the room.
From opposing corners of the ceiling, two security cameras pitched and yawed as they tracked his every move. Their lenses slowly twisted as they moved back and forth to keep him in focus. The servos hummed almost imperceptibly as they made constant adjustments.
"We're just pawns to them. No, we aren't even pawns, at least pawns can be useful."
He opened his fist and pulled his other hand away from the back of his head, tearing out several gray hairs. With a measure of disgust, he saw that they were both trembling. He threw down the hand that had been grabbing his hair and snatched the badge hanging from the lanyard around his neck. He brought it to eye level and glared at the holographic "L" that was next to the picture of the stranger that stared back. The logo jutted out like mountain peak.
"He knows! Even a blind man could see them. They're everywhere. Angels and demons, playing with us."
Startled, he jumped when a pounding came from the door. Turning, he shook his head. "Something needs to be done!"
The banging became more insistent. A voice called out, "Doctor Pavlis! Please, open the door!"
"Someone needs to do something, but no one understands. It's like they can't see them," the doctor muttered, "Or they don't want to." The doctor went back to scratching the back of his neck as he spasmodically jerked about as if trying to catch something peeking out.
"Doctor Pavlis, please!" the voice called again. Silence reigned for a moment. "Bring up the cutting torch."
"No time, no time to find people. Someone needs to do something. Someone." Pulling his hand back, the doctor rested it on the desk. Blood from his nails left marks on the white surface. Panting hard, he looked at the keyboard before twirling his badge.
"I need to do something, I'm the only one who can." Quickly, he started typing. The main monitor displayed line after line of code in one window while another window opened and shifted a map and zoomed in on a satellite view
"Shiva, Shiva can save us," he said, as his bloody fingerprints quickly covered the keyboard. Pausing, he went back to scratching the back of his neck and looking around. The white noise of the cooling fans was drowned out by the insistent hiss of a cutting torch. The stench of burnt paint and melting steel wafted from the hole where a shower of sparks flew.
"The demons are coming." Turning back, he hit the "enter" key. The monitors went black. Warning klaxons sounded throughout the facilities. Angry, large red letters flashed on every monitor. "LAUNCH".
With a loud bang, the security door was flung open and several guards ran in with truncheons drawn. "Hands up! Put your hands up now!"
Turning, the scientist laughed manically, holding his hands up. "Saved! We're saved!"
A woman in a lab coat walked into the room. "Saved? What, what have you done?"
"Shiva will save us, she'll burn Heaven and Hell!" the scientist cackled. "The angels and demons will be no more."
The guards charged forward, grabbing the man as they forced him to the ground. The woman ran past them to access the console. As she jabbed at the keyboard, the display reverted to what the scientist had been viewing. Shaking her head, she touched her earpiece. "Sir, he's launched one of the experimental missiles."
"Target?"
"Somewhere off the coast of Greece, I think. I'm not totally sure," she said. Absently, she rubbed her fingertips. She wrinkled her lips when she noticed that they and the keyboard were red and sticky. "Sir, it seems I will be required to be quarantined as well now."
***
"DESSERT!" Tia giggled and bounded across the deserted cafeteria. Chocolate cupcakes and glazed doughnuts floated from the shelves onto her tray. Licking her lips, she floated a plate of apple pie from under a heat lamp and placed a small slice of cheddar on it. She nosed the tray to the soft serve machine and covered the pie with a vanilla swirl.
Grabbing a tray in her mouth, Dash set it down on the rails and strolled to the dessert counter. She carefully looked over her choices before picking up a plate of angel food cake with her mouth and set it on her tray. She added a brownie, a cruller, and an assortment of cupcakes to her selection.
"Oh, they have strawberry pie, too!" Tia squealed as she floated a piece over to her collection before levitating her entire tray over to the table.
"It looks like we beat the Flash to the sweets," Zatanna said with a smile. "He tends to swipe all this stuff himself."
Sitting down, Tia giggled as she lifted a chocolate cupcake with her magic. "Cupcakes so sweet and tasty."
Leaning forward, Dash licked the frosting off a butterscotch cupcake. "Cupcakes, don't be too hasty!"
Tilting sideways the two sang out cheerfully, "Cupcakes, cupcakes, CUPCAKES!"
A sudden blast of wind blew the girls' manes to the side as a man in a red bodysuit stopped and looked at the dessert counter. "Cupcakes? Where!"
"Afternoon, Flash."
"Aaaw, come on! We're out of cupcakes again!" Turning, the Flash smiled. "Oh. Hey, Zatanna. What's up?"
"Nothing much, just babysitting the girls," Zatanna said, sitting down with the last of the cupcakes and smiling.
Zipping over like a bolt of lightning, the Flash looked down at the pair of ponies.
"Hi, girls. You probably know me from the LightSpeed energy bar commercials."
"The what?" Tia asked, tilting her head to one side.
"Are you one of the heroes here? Like Wonder Woman?" Dash asked, tilting her head to the other side.
Deflated, the Flash sighed "Oh harsh. What, did you grow up on an island somewhere?"
"Yep, Themescara," Dash acknowledged, nodding.
"You know Zatanna and Wonder Woman, but not me?" The Flash gave a dejected look.
"Dash, have you tried this pie?" Tia asked as she floated a forkful to her mouth.
Shaking her head, the little pegasus stuck her tongue out. "Ugh! No, I hate pie."
Blinking, the Flash looked at her. "How can anyone hate pie?"
Dash replied, "I have to eat it with my nose."
"What do you mean?" asked Zatanna.
"Well, you have hands, she has magic," Dash explained motioning to the two. "Me, I have to use my hooves and mouth," Dashy stated matter-of-factly.
Blinking, the Flash tilted his head. "Okay, and?"
"I have to lick up or put my face into the food to eat it. It's okay for cakes and foods that hold together, but pie," she said as she motioned to the pie dish, "I have to stick my muzzle in unless I want to eat just crust or just filling. If I stick my muzzle in, it goes up my nose. Trust me, smelling pie all day just isn't fun."
The Flash stood, blinking a few times before he started laughing, "Okay, you got me there. So, how are you two enjoying the superhero life?"
Dash tilt her head and blinked, puzzled. "We're not heroes."
Chuckling, the Flash nodded. "Right, you're just kids who save the day in your spare time."
Tia shook her head and giggled. "Yep, cuz real heroes get costumes and nicknames."
"Well 'Tia' and 'Celestia' are nicknames, aren't they?" Zatanna asked, stroking the ponies' manes.
Dash giggled. "Yeah, but costumes are another thing, and neither of us could really do the whole cape thing, either. Do you know how much trouble a cape would cause for our wings?"
"So? No capes!" Tia said and waggled a hoof at Dash before blinking. "Okay, downside of not having fingers; waggling a hoof doesn't work." She sat up and gestured with her forehooves. "I can still do air quotes."
Suddenly, the lights in the cafeteria flashed red as an alarm klaxon wailed. J'onn's voice came over the speakers, "Rescue crews assemble. Team 3, report to the transport room. This is a delta level alert."
"What's going on?" Tia asked, looking up at Zatanna.
"I have no idea. Flash?"
"I'll go see," He said before vanishing in a blur.
"Bridge?" Dash asked.
Tia nodded. Lighting her horn, she encased the three in her aura. A heartbeat later, they materialized on the bridge just as the Flash ran up to the monitor station, stopping beside the Martian Manhunter.
"What's going on J'onn?"
"We detected a rogue missile launch. We were tracking it on radar until booster separation. We lost it after that; there wasn't any debris." The green Martian tapped the screen, bringing up a display showing the launch trajectory.
"Lost what?" Zatanna asked, looking up at the big monitor.
"I think it was a Damocles class missile launched from eastern USA, but it cloaked soon after launch, and I can't detect its heat signature." J'onn responds.
"Damocles class? That's LexCorp tech!" the Flash said in shock, "What does he think he's doing!"
The main monitor showed the image of a bald gentleman in a business suit. He said, "Contacting you, it would seem."
"What are you doing on this channel? This is reserved for official government communications," J'onn said firmly.
"Helping you," replied a woman's voice as the display split and a slightly overweight African-American woman came into view, arms crossed.
"Waller?" the Flash blinked, looking at J'onn.
"It would seem one of my staff went crazy. He began speaking of angels and devils before launching an experimental missile," Lex said firmly. "The missile is armed with a gravitic fusion warhead that super-compresses its hydrogen fuel." Looking pointedly at Flash, Luthor continued. "In kindergarten terms, it makes a baby star and hugs it tight. When it lets go, everything that was holding it together tears it apart.”
"And then, boom," Amanda said grimly.
"How big a boom are we talking about?" asked Flash.
Grimly, Luthor replied, "Everything within a fifty-mile radius will be vaporized by the thermal pulse. Every structure within a 100-mile radius will be flattened by the shockwave. Every living thing in a 200-mile radius will be killed by the overpressure effects."
"What is the target?" J'onn asked sternly.
Lex shook his head, "Its exact target is unknown at this time; the missile's telemetry and self-destruct are off-line. Its target area is projected to be somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Greece." On cue, a map was projected in front of Luthor's image.
Blinking as she looked at the map Tia tilted her head. "Isn't that the area of Themescara?"
"How do we stop it?" J'onn demanded.
"That is up to you. I simply called Miss Waller here as well as you to advise you of the situation. I would suggest keeping the boy scout out of the blast radius; it emits red sun radiation. You have three minutes. I suggest you use your time wisely."